


Double Jeopardy

by DesertVixen



Series: Bringing Down The Barriers [4]
Category: Hardy Boys - Franklin W. Dixon, Nancy Drew - Carolyn Keene, Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys Super Mysteries - Franklin W. Dixon & Carolyn Keene
Genre: Cameos from Canon, Department of Back Story, Developing Relationship, F/M, Family Feels, Mystery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-14
Updated: 2018-07-14
Packaged: 2019-06-10 04:34:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 29,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15283758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DesertVixen/pseuds/DesertVixen
Summary: The Hardys come to River Heights to help with a mystery involving Nancy's mother's death...





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Published as part of WIP Big Bang. 
> 
> Story originally published on Fanfiction.net between April 2009 and December 2010. (Why yes, that is a long time.) Prologue and chapters 1-11 were published on FF.net during that period and no substantial changes have been made. The story will be updated over there as well.
> 
> Original Author’s Notes: Okay, for anyone who was wondering when there was actually going to be a fic with a mystery in it – this is it. It’s a little darker than the others, and goes back to an event that I think a lot of us have tried a spin on – What happened to Nancy’s mother? All canon tells us is that she died – like the queen in Disney’s Sleeping Beauty, she doesn’t even get a name in the books. So, this is my take on it.
> 
> Chronological Note: The previous story, “Meet Me In Chicago”, takes place in the middle of June, roughly. This one is set in the beginning of August. The general time frame for the stories is three years after the SuperMysteries, making the characters of legal drinking age. 
> 
> I’d like to thank my fabulous beta Amy for keeping me from making silly mistakes in chapters 1-11, and for helping me keep the plot from getting too crazy. Also my other half helped with the newer portion.
> 
> Also, disclaimer: I don’t own any of the established ND/HB characters. And I’m in the Army, so suing wouldn’t really be worth the money anyway…

He had not wanted to believe his own eyes. He’d fought the urge to crumple the envelope and its contents, or shove it in the shredder and pretend he had never seen it. Instead, they lay on his desk, the letter, the newspaper clipping, and the photo. 

The letter had been bad enough, with its reminder that he had failed at what should have been his highest priority, and the threat that it could happen again, just as easily. 

The news clipping seemed almost an afterthought, and he wasn’t sure why it had been included, unless it was to let him know they’d been keeping an eye on him – which, on the face of things, was completely absurd. He had almost missed it, and would have if Anna Marvin had not called and teased him about it. The social section had run a story about the gala to benefit the River Heights hospital, and illustrated it with pictures – including one of him and Helena. There didn’t seem to be anything in the article itself, or in the picture that indicated a serious relationship, and Helena was far from being the first woman he’d escorted to a fancy-dress event.

The photo was what disturbed him most. It clearly showed Helena standing on her apartment balcony in a tank top and pajama pants, coffee cup in hand as she looked out at the day, unaware that someone was watching her.

He had ignored the threat the first time, Carson Drew remembered with a jolt of pain. Rather, he hadn’t taken it seriously enough. There had been no photo then, just a letter and a news clipping, showing him and Cecily together at some function. There had been letters that followed, but they all had a copy of that same news clipping.

His wife had paid for his mistake with her life. The police had worked with Carson to provide some protection, but it had not been enough – not even with Fenton Hardy’s help. They had still managed to get to her. The police hadn’t been able to keep her safe. The people she had trusted to keep her safe had failed.

Now they were back. 

Carson took a large manila envelope from his desk drawer, sliding the offensive materials into it, and went to his office safe. When they were safely locked away, he let his secretary know to hold all calls.

He had a few calls to he needed to make himself.


	2. Chapter 2

Joe Hardy paused in the hallway at the bottom of the stairs. He had intended to duck into the office and grab the iPod he had left on his desk, but it sounded like their father was still at work. If he saw Joe, he’d probably come up with something for him to do, regardless of the fact that it was almost ten at night. He could hear the rustling as papers were turned, and then, to his surprise, he heard his mother’s voice in the office. The office was business space, and one that his mother rarely had reason to enter.

“Leave it for the night, Fenton, and come to bed.” Laura Hardy’s voice was soft, but Joe could hear the steel in it. All three of Laura Hardy’s men knew that tone, the one that said she was going to have things her way.

There was no response for almost a full minute. In his head, Joe pictured them – his father slouched in his favorite leather office chair, his mother’s expression stern. Then there was a long exhalation, and he heard his father say quietly, “I can’t just leave it, Laura.”

“It can wait until morning.” Her voice was still firm, and Joe wondered what it was that his father couldn’t leave. He guessed it had to be a case. “You’ve done everything you can for now.”

He heard footsteps in the office, and decided he didn’t feel like getting busted for eavesdropping, and slipped up the stairs.

Upstairs, he paused on the landing, then decided to knock on Frank’s door. He didn’t bother waiting for an actual response, but opened the door a moment later.

“Is it safe to come in?” Joe teased, noting Frank was slouched in his computer chair – a family habit, he thought with a grin. The webcam was on, and he could see Nancy Drew’s smiling face on the screen. “Or should I leave you two alone?”

Frank rolled his eyes, and on screen, Nancy laughed. “I should be going anyway,” she said. “I offered to pick Bess up after the wedding.” She giggled again, obviously seeing Joe’s eyes widen. “She’s working at it, Joe.”

Frank grinned. “Gotcha, little brother.” There had never been anything serious between the two of them, but flirting with Bess Marvin was definitely one of Joe’s pastimes. 

“Payback’s coming,” Joe growled. He turned his back on his brother and the computer, although not before he saw Nancy move as if to blow Frank a kiss.

“Good night, Frank.” Her voice was warm, and for a moment, Joe envied his brother’s good fortune. “Night, Joe.”

“Night, Nancy.” Joe said, not turning around.

“Good night, Nancy. Be careful.”

Joe could hear his brother tapping on the keyboard, and gave it another moment before he turned around.

Frank crossed his arms over his chest. “What’s up?”

Joe took a seat on the bed. “Something’s going on with Dad.”

“I know.” Frank raised an eyebrow. “He kicked me out of the office three hours ago, like there’s somewhere to be on a Thursday night.”

“He’s got the door open now – or Mom opened it,” Joe said thoughtfully. “And there are plenty of places to be on Thursday night.”

“Eavesdropping?” Frank asked mildly.

“I was going to go in, and then stopped when I heard them talking. She said it could ‘wait until morning’.”

“Then I guess we’ll find out in the morning,” Frank said distractedly. He saw another plan to get some time with Nancy getting bumped aside by work priorities. They’d missed the Fourth of July weekend because he’d been handling something for his father, and now it was already the first week of August.

“I thought you’d be more interested,” Joe said, a little annoyed.

“I’m interested – but if Mom put her foot down, there’s no way we’ll find out tonight.”

Joe had to nod in agreement with that. He glanced at his brother’s desk, the picture frame catching his eye. “This is new.”

The gorgeous redhead who’d been on the computer screen was standing next to his brother in the picture, arms around each other’s waist in front of what looked like a zoo exhibit. “Aw, you guys even match.” He watched the flush that crept up his brother’s neck. 

“Nancy finally got the picture printed and sent to me,” Frank said as he took it back, set it on the desk.

“Well, I’ll leave you and the computer alone,” Joe teased. “See you at breakfast.”

“Night,” Frank said absently, turning to pick up the history book from his desk. Joe looked at the size of the book and winced. He would never understand reading something that heavy for fun.


	3. Chapter 3

Breakfast was a little strained the next morning. Their mother seemed cheerful enough, but while Fenton might have gone to bed, Frank thought he looked as if he hadn’t slept well at all. Even if Joe hadn’t overheard the conversation he had, it would have been evident that something was going on. It was almost a relief when Fenton directed his sons to the office.

“Laura?” Fenton looked at his wife, who had followed them into the room. “Are you sure you want to be here for this?”

She looked at him, her gaze level. “I’m as much a part of it as you are, Fenton.”

Their sons watched the silent communication between the two of them, and finally Fenton nodded. 

“Carson Drew called me yesterday,” he said slowly. “How much do the two of you know about Nancy’s mother?”

The brothers looked at each other, surprise on both faces.

“Just…she died when Nancy was little,” Frank replied after a moment. “We’ve never talked about it much.”

Fenton nodded, and sat at his desk, unlocking one of the drawers. He withdrew a battered looking folder and laid it on the desk. “Almost 18 years ago,” he began, “Carson’s wife Cecily was kidnapped. There had been threatening letters for about a month before. To the best of our knowledge, she was grabbed in a parking garage, but something went wrong. There was a car accident, and she was killed.” 

Fenton removed a photograph from the folder. Frank took it, studying it dispassionately. The accident scene was not as bad as some he’d seen, but bad enough. His eyes went immediately to the passenger side of the car, where he could see a woman’s slumped form. Her reddish blonde hair – the only real distinct feature about her in the picture – was very familiar. It made him feel a little cold inside. Joe stood next to him, studying the photograph as well.

“The driver was also killed in the crash, but the Chicago PD identified him as a small-time hood, Mark Simonovich. Based on their records, he wasn’t the type of guy to stalk someone – not a guy hired for his brains. The crash appeared to have been a simple accident. With no further threats, and no leads surfacing to link Simonovich with anyone else, their investigation came to a halt. Wherever they planned to take her, if someone planned to ask for ransom – nothing ever came to light,” Fenton explained. 

Their father’s frustration was evident. There weren’t that many cases that went unsolved for them, and for something that hit home as strongly as this must have, neither of them could quite imagine what he must be feeling. Frank knew their father revisited old cases, tried to find new leads, especially when there wasn’t anything major going on. He’d even let Frank and Joe practice on a few of the old cases. There was an urgency here, though, about the way things were going that made Frank a little nervous. Before he could ask the question he was framing in his head, Joe beat him to the punch.

“Why are you telling us this story now?” Joe asked. “If you couldn’t find the answer after all this time-“

Fenton cut him off. “Carson called me yesterday to tell me he’d received a threatening letter almost exactly like the ones he received then. A letter, a news clipping, and in a new twist, a photograph. It was a photo of Helena standing on her apartment balcony – obviously taken without her knowledge, and with some good equipment.”

“He thinks whoever was behind it the first time is back,” Frank said.

“That’s what he thinks, and what the letters claim,” Fenton agreed.

“Are they absolutely sure it was Nancy’s mother in the car accident?” Joe asked. 

“Yes,” Laura said softly. “I was there when Carson identified…her. It was Cecily. She had a birthmark on her shoulder, and her rings, and her face hadn’t been...damaged in the accident.” Laura closed her eyes, remembering that too-cold room and Cecily’s absolutely still form. She’d looked peaceful, and far too young to be dead. The devastated look on Carson’s face as he had removed her jewelry and held it in his palm so tight she was afraid he would bleed was something seared into her memory forever. Then he had bent down and he’d kissed that birthmark, and whispered her name. He had been so deathly calm when they’d walked from that room, his eyes dry even as tears rolled down her own cheeks. 

Carson hadn’t broken until later that night. She hated to even think about what seemed to have been one of the worst nights of her life. 

Fenton rose and crossed to his wife, saying nothing as he wrapped his arms around her, bent to touch his head to hers. He knew what she was seeing in her head, knew she was remembering that day and night. “Laura.”

There was absolute silence for a long moment, and then Fenton released her. “Are you going to be okay?”

Laura nodded, but she followed him and sat in the desk chair, while Fenton leaned against the desk.

“I hit enough brick walls trying to find a link from Simonovich to well, anyone, that I finally had to give it up. He had a record of being mildly violent, but no stalking – and Carson had never been involved in prosecuting him for anything.” His voice was grim as he continued. “We were never able to nail down who had ordered the kidnapping, or whether it was an accident that she died in the car crash. There was never any trace of the people in the other car.” 

“Which tends to point away from the accidental factor,” Frank said grimly. “If it had been a real accident, you think they would have stopped.”

Fenton nodded. “Exactly. Carson had received some threats, but nothing out of the ordinary for a prosecutor. If they were trying to get his attention, they succeeded, horribly.”

“He could have been the Chicago district attorney, if he hadn’t given it up,” Laura said. “But now you know why he refuses to defend anyone who he suspects is actually guilty.”

“Does Nancy know any of this?” Frank asked, suspecting he already knew the answer. 

“Not yet,” Fenton said. “But she will, very soon. That was my only condition to Carson about agreeing to work this a second time – Nancy has to know, because otherwise we can’t protect her well enough.” He turned to his wife. “I know you disagree, Laura.”

“I don’t disagree that she should know,” she said quietly. “I disagree with you giving him an ultimatum.”

“I’m not sending my sons into danger without them knowing everything – and if you think there’s any way to keep Nancy away from this, you’re not thinking clearly.” He reached down, and took her left hand in his, rubbing his finger against the simple band she wore. “If he doesn’t tell her-“

“You will,” Joe finished solemnly.

“She’s in danger, whether Carson wants to admit it or not. The letter may be directed more towards Helena, but I don’t believe they’ll stay away from Nancy. Nor do I think we could keep Nancy away from this case once she knew.”

“You’re sending us down there?” Frank asked.

“No, we’re taking a little Hardy family vacation,” Fenton said with what might have passed for a smile. “It’s been a long time since we visited River Heights.” 

\---- ---- ----

She heard him come in, even as quiet as he tried to be. Over the course of their marriage, Laura had spent more nights than she cared to remember waiting to hear her husband come in, and nearly as many knowing that she would be sleeping alone. 

Tonight, she had been lying in the dark, but she was far from asleep. Fenton was quiet and efficient, and it wasn’t long before she felt him slide under the covers. Laura turned to face him, her eyes already adjusted to the dark – that, combined with the faint glow from the nightlight in the bathroom, let her see the familiar contours of his face, the strained look in his eyes.

“I was beginning to think you were sleeping in your office,” she said lightly.

“Just straightening things up.”

Laura raised an eyebrow. She knew Frank did the majority of the office organization when he was working, and she suspected that Fenton had been occupied with the case file, trying to find some angle that he had not seen before. “You’ve done all you can do from here.”

“I know.” He let out a long breath.

“You’re going to solve it this time,” she said softly, tracing a finger along his jaw.

“I hope so.”

She wanted to say something to lift some of the weight from his shoulders, but she didn’t have the words. Cecily’s death had hit him hard – both as a professional failure and the loss of a friend. It was not something they talked about a lot, at least not now. 

The silence lengthened in the comfortable darkness.

“You need to get some sleep,” she said finally. “Let it go for the night.”

He reached over, running a hand down her spine. “Are you planning to help me?” he asked, pulling her up against him. Laura slid her hands over his shoulders, glad to see him smile a little.

“Maybe if you ask very nicely,” she said softly, just before she kissed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I'm aware that there's a fandom tradition that Nancy's mother was named Elizabeth, but it's not canon in the SuperMysteries. (The original on FF.net had some comments on this fact.)


	4. Chapter 4

_The heat of the late summer afternoon made the lake water especially refreshing. She dove under the water then surfaced, the sun warming her skin. It was peaceful, and quiet, and they were alone. Just the two of them, enjoying the water, and enjoying being alone. She turned on to her back, floating peacefully, until she felt his hand on her ankle, sliding along her leg, and startled, went under the water for a moment._

_“Sorry,” he said as she pushed wet hair back from her face. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”_

_“I’ll get you back for that,” she replied, her tone mock-threatening._

_“I’m worried,” he teased._

_“You should be,” she said with a laugh as she tried to push him under the water._

_They wrestled about in the water, but somehow ended holding each other, her legs wrapped around his waist as they shared a kiss, a long kiss…_

The tire swing was still hanging in the back yard, Frank saw as he stepped outside onto the deck. It had been more than two years since he’d been in the Drews’ house, but it seemed nothing had changed. Nancy sat in the swing, her back to the house. Frank watched her for a moment before he walked towards her. She was obviously relaxed, face tipped up to enjoy the sun. 

“Hi, gorgeous,” he said softly near her ear, pulling the ropes to spin the tire swing around so she faced him. 

Nancy blinked, looked up at him. “I was just thinking about you,” she said slowly. “Too bad I’m obviously dreaming.”

He grinned at her. “You’re not dreaming.”

“Why don’t you prove it?” she asked, and he could hear the challenge in her voice.

He slid his hand behind her neck as he bent to kiss her. 

“Satisfied?” he said softly as his lips left hers.

“No, this could be a really good dream,” she said, eyes closed. “I’ve had a few.”

“If you insist,” he said, sliding one arm under her legs, the other behind her back and pulling her out of the swing, leaving it to spin on its ropes. Nancy laughed and slid her hands over his shoulders, as he turned around to find his younger brother standing there, camera in hand. When he would have moved to set her down, she shook her head and kissed him. Only then did she let him put her back on her feet, and she turned to give Joe a hug.

“What are you two doing here?”

\----- ----- -----

She still couldn’t really believe it. Her father had said that he and Fenton had come up with the idea as a surprise for Nancy, Frank, and Joe – a much-deserved vacation – but there was something about his explanation that simply didn’t ring true. Nancy had decided to ignore the small, somewhat annoying voice that told her something was going on, and for at least the rest of the day enjoy the unexpected opportunity. There would be plenty of time in the morning to interrogate her father about why exactly the Hardys were here.

It wasn’t only a surprise to her. Hannah was also taken aback, and Nancy could tell the housekeeper thought something was a little strange as well. Carson Drew was generally a good host, and rarely failed to let his housekeeper know important details, like the fact that he had invited houseguests. Nancy had helped her get everything sorted out, biting her tongue to keep from saying anything about the arrangement of guest rooms that saw the brothers being put in separate rooms on the third floor. There were guest rooms on both the second and third floors, but she wondered if the fact that her own bedroom was on the second floor factored into the decision. 

It wasn’t until Hannah started trying to figure out what they would do for dinner when Nancy remembered her plans for the evening. She had promised Bess that she would put in an appearance at the Scouts fundraiser this evening – at least the early part of it. The councils in the area – both Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts were trying to raise money to save and modernize River Heights’ largest roller skating rink, with a skate night that would turn into a lock-in for the Girl Scouts at the rink itself. Bess was involved as an assistant troop leader, and had somehow convinced Nancy to help out. She still wasn’t entirely sure why she had agreed to spend the better part of Saturday evening at the event, but suspected it had something to do with the fact that she’d been planning on being alone.

Now she wasn’t. If she didn’t show up, however, Bess would never let her hear the end of it. They were best friends, and they backed each other up. That, of course, was another reason she had agreed to even go. She had her duty to her guests as well, though. Guests, she realized with a jolt, who needed to be entertained.

It seemed there was really only one thing she could do to fulfill all her obligations.

\----- ----- ----- 

“I can’t wait to see Bess’s face,” Nancy said with a laugh as they got out of the car at the rink. “I know she’s been trying to figure out what Eagle Scouts we both knew that she hadn’t already tried to invite.”

“Has anyone ever told you that you have a vicious streak?” Joe teased as he jumped out of the back seat. 

“Now and then,” she admitted. “I’m sure I’ll be forgiven, though. After all, I’m bringing her you.”

Joe grinned, and Frank sighed as he took her hand. “Don’t tell him that. It only puffs up his ego.”

“Nancy can’t help noticing male perfection when it’s right in front of her,” Joe replied. “She’s obviously a woman with taste.”

“And she’s dating which one of us?” Frank shot back.

“Down, boys,” Nancy said, pretending to scold. 

\----- ----- -----

Inside, it was a madhouse. Nancy didn’t think she’d ever seen so many kids in one place, and getting over to the skate rental counter was easier said than done. The teenagers behind the rental counter looked frazzled as they handed out skates in what seemed like an unending flood. Rollerblades were forbidden on the skate floor, and not that many had their own quad skates. Nancy hoped from the looks of things that improving the rental area was on the list of things to modernize. Still, the old place had a charm that was hard to forget. She’d even gone on one of her first-ever dates here, and received her first real kiss in one of the dark corners. It was not, however, a place she had often come with Ned, and that made her smile as well. She didn’t want to think of him, not tonight. The guys were still trying to get their skates, and she was trying to find a place for them to sit down and get the skates on. 

Bess caught up to Nancy as she was leaving the rental counter. “Nancy! I was starting to think you had backed out on me.”

“Would I abandon you?” Nancy teased.

“Normally, no, but I thought you might have second thoughts about spending all Saturday evening with a ton of kids.” Bess grimaced at the ugly brown rental skates Nancy carried. “Do they have to be so ugly?”

“At least they’re not bowling shoes,” Nancy said with a laugh. The neon pink laces used on the women’s skates didn’t help either. Bess, of course, had her own skates – white with pristine white laces, so they would always match whatever she was wearing. Tonight, it was jeans and a blush pink fitted t-shirt, the Scouting logo on it in darker pink. Nancy hadn’t dressed up too much, pairing jeans with a teal vee-neck trimmed around the hem in white lace, her hair down around her shoulders.

“So…where are the guys? And who did you find anyway?” 

“They’re still getting their skates. And you have forgotten a pair of Eagle Scouts we know,” Nancy said as she sat, removing her shoes.

Bess scanned the crowd at the rental counter, then turned back to Nancy with narrowed eyes. “Their last name wouldn’t be Hardy, would it?”

Nancy turned and waved at the brothers. “Trust me, it was a surprise for me, too. We would have been here a little earlier, but we all went for dinner at Dona Maria’s.” 

“All?” The question in Bess’s voice had Nancy grinning.

“The three of us, and our parents. And Helena,” Nancy added after a moment.

“You didn’t know they were coming?” Bess had the same note of almost-suspicion that Nancy had felt earlier. “Is something going on?”

“I don’t know,” Nancy said slowly, but before she could say anything else, the brothers had reached them and Joe had caught Bess up in a hug. When he had released her, she turned to Frank, a smile on her face.

“So you two finally figured it out,” Bess said calmly. “It’s about time.”

\----- ---- -----

Bess leaned on the wall, watching the skaters. The rink was anything but quiet, even with the couple skate going on. The sounds of the people not skating around in pairs, the not-quiet slow song being blasted over the speakers, the sound of people in the arcade all contributed to the ambient noise. Three hours of being inside it hadn’t killed her ears yet, although she was going to be glad when the lock-in started and most of the people left. The Brownie troop she was an assistant leader for was having a good time, and so was she.

She waved as she watched Joe skate by, hand in hand with a girl who couldn’t be more than fourteen, her cheeks wildly pink. Bess resisted the urge to blow him a kiss when she saw the pack of wide-eyed teen girls pointing at Joe and his partner. It didn’t take long for her to figure that one out – a dare. She was sure Joe knew it as well, considering the girl’s age. Frank and Nancy, of course, were skating together, hands held between them as Nancy glided gracefully backwards. They were talking quietly, and seemed absorbed in each other.

The song ended, and flowed into another, and Bess looked up to find Joe standing in front of her on the rink. The teen-aged girl was skating up to her friends, and Bess could only imagine the conversation that was going to ensue. He was looking fine tonight, in khakis and a dark blue shirt that left her in no doubt that he had been working out. “Care to skate?”

“Why not?” She came around to a break in the wall that allowed admittance to the skating floor, let him pull her forward as she laughed. She rested her hands on his shoulders, as she matched his rhythm, his hands coming to rest on her waist. “I’m sort of surprised Frank and Nancy aren’t skating a little closer,” Bess said after a moment, when they passed the couple.

“Skating backwards is not one of my big brother’s talents,” Joe said with a grin, “and it’s a lot harder to do the backward thing when you’re not the taller half.”

“That’s never a problem for someone who skates with me,” Bess said with a grin. At five-four, she was shorter than both Nancy and George. Joe had a good eight inches in height on her. “Although I can skate backwards as well.”

“You’re a woman of many skills,” he teased. “Want to show off a little?”

“Oh?” She raised an eyebrow, then let her hands drop from his shoulders, let them slide down his arms a little. “Give me some room to turn around.”

When she had turned, Joe guided her in front of him. It took skill for both of them to skate backwards, and a moment for them to find the right timing. Bess laughed as they managed it without too much trouble. He admired Nancy, but he always enjoyed time spent with Bess. She made people laugh, made people feel good about themselves, and never failed to flirt back with him easily. 

“I like the haircut,” he said. Strands of hair gently brushed the back of her neck, curling up at the ends.

“I’m letting it grow a little,” Bess replied. “I think it was a little too short to start with.”

They laughed with each other as they passed Frank and Nancy again, both of them waving at the other couple in unison. Bess saw Frank shake his head slightly. He and Nancy were perfect for each other, but Frank Hardy could be a little too serious, a little too intense, for Bess’s taste.

\----- ---- -----

The couple skate over, the music gave way to the strains of the infamous “chicken dance” song, and the majority of older people fled the floor as the younger ones were herded on. Bess, of course, was staying with her girls, and Nancy was glad of Joe’s foresight in bringing his small digital camera. Bess Marvin doing the “chicken dance” was worth a blackmail picture or two. Just because George couldn’t be here in person didn’t mean she had to miss the laugh. Frank had offered to brave the refreshment counter, and Nancy and Joe stood by the wall, watching the skaters.

“Enjoying Saturday night in River Heights?” Nancy yelled over the music.

“It’s a blast. I mean, I could be hanging out at Mr. Pizza right this second,” Joe answered, referring to the popular pizza place run by the Prito family in Bayport. 

“Why aren’t you?” 

Joe flashed her a brilliant smile. “Maybe Dad thought he should make up for the holiday weekend Frank had to miss with you.”

Nancy sighed. Whatever was going on, it was obvious she wasn’t going to get an answer out of Joe. He could play the dummy with the best of them, but she knew that he was a lot sharper than he sometimes appeared. She could probably push, but this didn’t seem like the best time or place.

It could wait, she told herself, until later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For all of us who read the SuperMysteries when they were knew, and went on first dates in roller rinks...
> 
> Reference Note: There are a few of the Super Mysteries in which the brothers visit River Heights, notably Royal Revenge and Dead on Arrival, both of which are worth a read. (Dead on Arrival especially has some fun scenes between Nancy and Ned, but it also has a hint of Frank/Brenda Carlton, so beware…) Chief McGinnis does have a high opinion of teen detectives.


	5. Chapter 5

The light-hearted mood shifted as they moved into the den with coffee. The dinner out had been a good idea all around – it was easier for the people who knew about the darker reasons for the trip to not spill in public. The kids had gone off to the skating rink from the restaurant, which meant that they could have the necessary conversation without interruptions. Laura could see that Hannah was definitely curious, but this was going to be hard enough without another pair of ears. So she carried the coffee in herself and poured the cups to pass around. That chore done, she sat on the loveseat next to Fenton, and watched Carson lean against the desk, while Helena seated herself in one of the comfortable chairs.

“Helena,” Carson said finally, when everyone was settled and he could see no way of delaying what he had to say any longer. “There is something that we need to talk about.”

“Is everything okay?” She leaned forward, a concerned look on her face.

“No,” he said quietly. “It’s not. The reason I invited the Hardys down here is because I need their help. We need their help,” he amended after a moment.

“Carson.” Helena rose from her seat, and walked to where he stood, taking one of his hands in hers. “Just tell me.”

He could see the concern in her hazel eyes as he studied her face, wondering how she was going to react to this. “Your life is in danger, because of me.”  
She frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“I received a letter, a threatening letter, the day before yesterday. There was a clipping of the photo that ran in the feature about the gala, and another photo. It was of you, standing on your balcony. The letter writer wanted to be sure I knew how close they could get, and they wanted to remind me of how easy it had been the first time.”

“The first time?” Helena echoed. “The first time for what? Carson, this can hardly be the first threatening letter you’ve received. It’s not my first one either, to be honest.”

“I could probably publish a book of examples,” he admitted ruefully. “It wasn’t threatening me, Helena. The threat was very definitely aimed at you.”

“How so?” He could hear the faintest bit of doubt in her voice.

“The first time they’re referring to was eighteen years ago. I got the same kind of letters, threatening my wife, before she was abducted and killed in a car accident. I believed then, and still do, that the letter writer was responsible for Cecily’s death.”

“This is crazy,” she said, but her voice lacked the conviction it should have had. “May…may I see it?”

Carson walked around to the other side of the desk, unlocked the drawer, and took out the envelope to hand to Helena. She studied each item carefully, and when she handed him back the envelope, he thought she seemed a little pale.

“Have you reported this yet?”

“Russell McGinis knows,” Carson said carefully. He had told the River Heights police chief about the threatening letter as a courtesy. Chief McGinis was a friend, but more importantly, he had used Frank and Joe on a few occasions. He knew the Hardys got results, just as Nancy did.

“That’s not what I asked,” Helena replied, her voice sharp.

“I haven’t reported it, no. That’s why I invited the Hardys down here. There’s no one I’d trust more, and Fenton is already familiar with the situation, since I asked for his help the first time.”  
Helena turned to Fenton, who was rising from the love seat, having shaken off Laura’s hand. “What makes you think you’ll have any better luck this time? Why not have the police?”

“Russell McGinis is a good cop, but the River Heights PD can’t dedicate all their resources to this. We can,” Fenton said calmly. “As far as having better luck, I think you’ll have a hard time finding someone more determined to solve this. My sons share that determination, not to mention the challenge of solving a case their old man couldn’t. We’ll have Nancy as well, I’m assuming.”

Helena turned back to Carson. “Nancy doesn’t know?”

He shook his head. “Not everything. Not yet.”

“This is crazy,” Helena repeated, her voice getting a little shaky. “Why is this happening?”

“Someone wants revenge for something,” Fenton said. “Or they’re just crazy themselves. Maybe a combination of both. This time, we’re going to find the person responsible, and keep you safe.”

Helena looked as if she wanted to say something, but Carson broke in, taking her hand in his. 

“I don’t want to have to identify your body.” His voice was agonized. “Helena, please. Listen to him.”

Laura knew what Carson was seeing in his mind, knew he was remembering that trip to the morgue. 

Helena looked at Carson for a long moment, seeing the pain, the haunted look on his face. She laid a hand against his cheek. “Okay, I’m listening,” she said quietly, turning her attention to Fenton.

“I’d like to have Joe act as Helena’s bodyguard. I’m sure,” Fenton said with the first hint of humor he’d felt since dinner, “that Frank won’t have any problems keeping an eye on Nancy. There wasn’t any physical danger or threat to Carson last time, so I’m not as worried about him.”

“What am I supposed to do?” Helena asked.

“Act normal,” Fenton replied. “Aside from taking some precautions, act normal.”

\---- ---- ----

An hour later, the Hardys had excused themselves, and Carson found himself alone with Helena. She still looked a little shaken, and he put his arm around her as they sat on the loveseat. She said nothing, just leaned against him.

“I’m sorry,” Carson said at length.

“It’s not your fault.”

“No, but if we weren’t…involved,” he said after a pause, “This person wouldn’t be fixated on you.”

“Carson, don’t.” When he looked as if he would say more, she laid a finger over his lips. “Don’t. This is going to work out.”

“You’re not convinced you’re actually in danger, are you?” 

“It seems a little… surreal to me. But if it will make you feel better, I will take the precautions Fenton suggested.” 

“Good.” He leaned over to kiss her. “Stay with me tonight?”

“I thought you didn’t want me staying here,” she replied. “Something about setting a good example for your daughter.”

“I need to know you’ll be safe,” he whispered.

Helena could see that he really was bothered. “All right. But,” she said, deciding to try and lighten up the atmosphere, “I don’t have any pajamas.”

He smiled at her, recognizing her attempt for what it was. “Oh, I’m sure I can help you with that.”

\---- ---- ----

“That was Helena’s car, wasn’t it?” Frank said as he and Nancy walked out onto the deck. They had left Bess at the skating rink, and Joe had presumably headed upstairs to his room. The two of them had come outside to enjoy the quiet. 

“That would be her car.” It was hard to miss, Nancy thought ruefully – the Porsche was sleek and black, and bore vanity plates that read “LENKA”, her family’s nickname for her. “It’s a pretty sweet ride. It’s also a surprise to see it still here. She’s never stayed over before.”

Frank shrugged. He didn’t really want to discuss the situation, especially since he had a good idea why she would have stayed over. His father had been very serious about not letting anything slip to Nancy before Carson talked to her, but she obviously had figured out that there was something besides a vacation going on, even if she hadn’t been willing to push on it. She was smart and observant, and he liked it – except when he was being forced to keep something from her. 

They stepped down to the grass, and then she stopped him, reaching up to slide her arms around his neck as she kissed him. It was a long kiss, a real kiss, one that left them both a little breathless as she pulled away. His arms were around her waist, as they stood there in the moonlight. “I’ve been wanting to do that all day,” she said softly.

“You’re not the only one,” he answered, and kissed her again.

There was room for two on the tire swing if she sat on his lap, and they settled in together. Nancy leaned her head back against Frank’s shoulder, eyes closed in contentment as his arm settled around her waist. 

“I think you owe us for that one, Drew.” 

“Kids scare you more than criminals?” Nancy teased, not opening her eyes. 

“In this case, yes. That was insane.”

“Imagine how poor Bess feels,” she replied lazily, and they lapsed into silence. He had one of his feet braced against the ground, rocking them slightly, and she didn’t want to talk. She just wanted to enjoy this, wanted to know he was here with her.

“I missed you,” she said simply, after a while. “A lot.”

“I know. I’m sorry about Independence Day,” he answered.

“It’s not your fault. You three caught the bad guy. It’s your job.”

It was, and he liked that she got it. “I still would have liked to spend the time with you. After all, you keep getting to show me off, and I haven’t had the chance yet.”

She smiled. “Dad’s been keeping me busy, too. We’ll make the time, somehow.”

“We will,” he said quietly, thinking of their senior year in college – together, but not geographically. There was a small voice that said they wouldn’t last beyond the summer, and now and then he found himself listening to it. They had waited a long time to take the chance together, but there had always been a bond between them that was hard to define, exactly. The only thing he was sure of was that he missed her when they weren’t together, and all the online chats and phone calls couldn’t beat this quiet moment in her back yard. He was reluctant to let it end, no matter how tired he was. In the morning, everything would be changed.

Either Carson Drew would break the news to Nancy – not that she didn’t already suspect something was going on – or Fenton Hardy would do it for him. Either way, she would know he had kept a secret from her.

He didn’t know how she would react.


	6. Chapter 6

The waffles were delicious as usual, but Carson found his breakfast turning into lead in his stomach. He hadn’t slept especially well last night, even with Helena cuddled against him – although it had been quite nice to wake up to the prospect of a steamy shower for two. Helena seemed pretty well at ease at the breakfast table, but he knew she had to be a little uncomfortable. It was hardly the first morning they’d spent together, but the setting in her apartment was more intimate than his bright, sunny dining room. They were also used to much less of an audience. Helena had succeeded in lightening his mood somewhat, but when they had come downstairs, the sight of his daughter laughing with Frank Hardy as the two of them teased Joe about his waffle consumption had brought the weight back down on his shoulders. He knew Fenton was serious about her need to know, but finding the right words, the right way, was going to be difficult.

Hannah said nothing when she took the plate with the half-eaten waffle back to the kitchen, before she seated herself at the table with her own breakfast, but Carson knew she was studying him with concern. He would have to talk to Hannah as well, make her understand the situation. It would not be the first time there had been a threat made against the Drew household, and Hannah had had some scary moments, but this was different. There was a personal element to it, to all of it, that scared him. This was no ordinary criminal.

And that was why Nancy had to know. Carson locked eyes with Fenton, nodded decisively. Fenton returned the nod, his eyes serious. It was time they got things moving.

\----- ---- ----

Nancy was not-quite surprised when her father called her into the den after breakfast. She was somewhat surprised when he closed and locked the door behind them, wondering what he felt he needed the privacy for. Whatever was going on, she felt a little tingle of excitement at being let in on the mystery. She knew there had to be a mystery. It was the only explanation that fit what few facts she had.

There was a part of him that would always think of Nancy as his little girl, but as she sat on the couch now, she reminded Carson of her mother. Her solemn blue eyes brought to mind Cecily’s dancing blue ones, and he remembered with a pang how pleased they had both been when it became clear Nancy’s eyes were going to turn blue rather than brown. He couldn’t deny that his dead wife had been on his mind these last few days, and the memory of his failure. Nancy, on the other hand, was his success, his pride and joy. He’d raised her to be smart and curious – sometimes almost too much for her own good. His biggest fear wasn’t having to actually tell Nancy the truth about her mother’s death – it was wondering how she would react to the news. 

“Dad?” She looked at him steadily, saw how uncomfortable he was as he leaned against the desk, trying not to look nervous. “What’s wrong?”

“I had hoped that somehow, I would never have to tell you this. I always told myself it wasn’t the right time, or that I didn’t want to spoil the moment by telling you. To be honest, I don’t think I would ever have found the right time if this hadn’t come up.” He took a deep breath. “It’s about your mother, Nancy, and how she died.”

“You always told me she died in a car accident,” Nancy said slowly. 

“That wasn’t a lie,” he said quickly, wanting to reassure her. “It just wasn’t all of the truth.”

“What do you mean, Dad?”

He took another deep breath. “Your mother was killed in a car accident. However, she was in that car because she had been abducted. The man driving the car, as far as we could discover was the man who had abducted her. She’d been drugged, most likely. Both of them were killed, the other car left the scene, and the case just sort of…lost momentum, or ran into brick walls. Fenton worked at it hard, the police worked on it, but we never found out who ordered the abduction.”

“Ordered the abduction?” Nancy asked quietly. “You mean it wasn’t just some random thing.” 

He could see her trying to process what he was telling her, trying to fit it against what she knew. “No, it wasn’t random. I – we – had received threatening letters, very specifically directed against your mother. They were hardly the first ones I’d received. We discussed her going away, taking you to visit her family, but in the end we decided against it. Fenton had agreed to help, and we had some police protection.” He spread his hands in a helpless gesture. 

“But they still got her,” Nancy whispered. “Oh, Dad.” She crossed to him, hugged him tightly, and felt him return the embrace. “Dad, it’s not your fault.”

They stood like that for a long moment, before they released each other, before Carson spoke again. “The letters are coming again,” he said. “Only this time, they’re aimed at Helena.”

Suddenly, the events of the last day fell into place. “That’s why the Hardys are here, isn’t it?”

He nodded. “This time, we will stop whoever is behind this.”

There was a long silence, and he noticed that she didn’t ask if that “we” included her. She had definitely inherited his confidence, he thought with a bitter smile, his take-charge attitude. That could cause trouble, he knew from experience.

“You’re probably upset with me, Nancy, and I can’t blame you,” Carson said.

“I… I don’t know, Dad. I think I need some time to myself, to think,” she said softly. 

He watched her start to walk from the room, then she obviously changed her mind, because she turned back to hug him again. After she had left the room, presumably to go up to her room, he sat at the desk for a long time, deep in thought.

\---- ---- --- 

“Nancy?” Laura knocked on the door, over an hour later. “May I come in?”

After a few moments, the door opened. Her friend’s daughter stood there, her cheeks showing traces of tears, but she didn’t try to block Laura from coming in. It had been a long time since she’d been in Nancy’s bedroom, Laura thought irrelevantly – probably not since Nancy had started high school. The crisp teal and white suited her, elegant and feminine without being overdone. She couldn’t help smiling a little as she saw the picture of Nancy and Frank sitting on the computer desk. 

Laura turned back to Nancy, saw the scrapbook she had made her for a sweet sixteen gift sitting on the bed. There were pictures from Cecily’s childhood and teen years, her wedding to Carson, and the short three years of Nancy’s life when she’d had both her parents alive. “Would you like to talk about it?”

Nancy nodded, sat down on the bed with the scrapbook. It was open to a formal portrait of the Drew family – the last one, Laura realized suddenly. Carson wore a dark green shirt and blue tie, complementing the matching green-and-blue his wife and daughter wore – Cecily in a green sweater, her reddish hair spilling over her shoulders, Nancy’s blonde curls held back by barrettes, dressed in a green-and-blue plaid dress with a white lace collar. They all smiled at the camera, and the picture conveyed a sense of happiness, of closeness, of family. She had still had the picture on her mantel when Cecily was killed, and it had stayed up for a long time. 

“Why didn’t anyone ever tell me?” Her tone was quiet. Not accusing, but curious, wondering, as if she was still trying to make sense of it. “Why didn’t anyone ever tell me my own mother was the victim of an unsolved murder?”

“It wasn’t my decision to make,” Laura answered. “I wasn’t the one who had to live with the results of you knowing, and Carson was. A lot of people in River Heights may not know everything – another decision your father made that I can’t criticize.”

“I barely even remember her,” Nancy whispered, reaching out a finger to trace over the faces in the photo. “I know what Dad has told me, and I have this scrapbook, but I can barely remember what she was like.”

“You’re a lot like her,” Laura said slowly. “She was a wonderful woman, a wonderful friend, and she loved you and Carson so much. Cecily was so proud of him, of the difference his work made in people’s lives. She was so proud of you,” she continued, feeling a lump forming in her throat, “at how fast you learned things. We were so competitive about you and Frank, and your milestones.”

“He’s almost two months older than I am,” Nancy pointed out, interested in spite of the fact that they were getting off the subject. 

“Yes, but you walked before he did,” Laura said with a slightly faraway smile. “Of course, it felt like both he and Joe graduated right to running. There were all sorts of things that we compared, and teased each other over. But,” she said, drawing a deep breath, “that’s not really what we were talking about.”

“No, it’s not.”

“I think, Nancy, that Carson didn’t want to weigh you down with it. He couldn’t explain it to you then. It was hard enough for him as it was.”

“You were there,” Nancy said. 

Laura nodded. “We were there. I’d left the boys with their grandmother Hardy – Fenton’s mother was still alive then – and come to help. Carson and Cecily were trying to act normal, Fenton was trying to track down the letter writer, and I was doing some research on that angle. Maybe in hindsight, we should have barricaded ourselves in the apartment, but we didn’t. The first news we had that there was a problem was when your daycare called to tell us you were still there. Then, we found out about the accident.”

Nancy watched as Laura glanced down at the scrapbook between them, then closed her eyes. “I went with Carson to identify her body. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Until I sat with him while he told you that something had happened to Mommy, and that she had gone to heaven. It’s probably better that you don’t remember that.” 

Laura held out her hand, and Nancy took it. Then they were hugging each other, and Laura felt the tremor that ran through the younger woman. 

“We should get downstairs, if you’re ready,” Laura said after a long moment, letting go of her. “There’s work to be done.”

As if her words had summoned it, there was a knock at the door. Nancy opened it to find Frank standing there, looking from her to his mother with concern in his eyes.

“Dad is wondering if we’re all ready to start,” he told them.

Laura rested her hand on Nancy’s shoulder for a minute. “I’ll go down, get everyone rounded up.” She closed the door behind her, leaving the two of them alone in silence.

“Are you okay, Nancy?”

She said nothing, just slid her arms around his waist, resting her body against his. He rubbed a hand along her back as he rested his chin on her head. He wanted to say something, but there didn’t seem to be anything that fit the moment. So he held her, and waited for her to make the next move.

The next move turned out to be her stepping back, looking up at him with serious eyes. “How long have you known?”

“Friday morning.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I gave my word I wouldn’t. Dad – he wanted your father to tell you. He didn’t want it to come from one of us.”

She gave him a long, searching look. “What if I asked for your word?”

“As long as it doesn’t break another promise, you have it.”

“Don’t keep things from me, even if you think it will hurt me.” She exhaled slowly. “I think I’m as okay as I’m going to get.”

He took her hand. “They won’t get away this time, Nancy. We won’t let them.”

“Well then,” she said, twining her fingers with his, “let’s get started.”


	7. Chapter 7

She couldn’t really believe this was happening. Even after seeing the fear in Carson’s eyes last night, she had still not been totally convinced. Things like this just didn’t happen to people she knew. She had grown up a lawyer’s daughter, and there had been a few times that he had received a threat of some sort. When he had, however, it had simply been a matter of calling the police, and keeping their guard up. She wasn’t sure which she found crazier, the somewhat cloak-and-dagger approach or the fact that the others seemed to think it was just par for the course. 

The photo disturbed her. Helena was willing to admit that. It was creepy to think that someone was taking surveillance shots of her. It was the whole rest of the story that seemed a little surreal. This morning in the warm sunlight, she had almost dismissed it, had enjoyed putting them both in a good mood. What had worried her was the fact that she had to sit down to breakfast with a houseful of people she didn’t know well – including her lover’s daughter. Thankfully, the reaction from everyone else had been low-key.

Carson had shut himself in the den with Nancy, where Helena had assumed he was telling her the story. After an hour, Helena had gone to investigate, and found Carson sitting at the desk, deep in thought. Nancy was nowhere to be seen. He had seemed calm enough, if a bit distracted, and when she had started to talk about leaving, he had asked her to wait until Fenton had talked to everyone. 

Now, she watched as the rest of the group assembled. Carson had kept his seat at the desk, and Fenton Hardy sat on the edge of the desk, arms crossed over his chest. Helena had taken one of the comfortable chairs under the window so she could watch everyone involved, while Laura Hardy sat serenely in the chair next to her, as if she had watched a similar scene many times before. 

Nancy and Frank sat next to each other on the couch, and neither their linked hands or the warm smile Nancy had aimed at her father had passed unnoticed. Joe perched on the arm of the couch, which put Nancy solidly between the brothers. There was a sense of the trio being a team, and the attitude of the brothers struck Helena as protective. 

Hannah Gruen was there as well, and the best word Helena could come up with to describe her demeanor was resigned, as if proceedings like this were not totally unknown to her.

“Hannah,” Carson said slowly, “I’m afraid that the Hardys are not here on a simple vacation. There have been some threats made, and I thought it would be better to have detectives we know on the case, instead of the police.”

“I had guessed something was going on,” the housekeeper said dryly, and there was some quiet laughter. She listened in silence as Carson gave her a rundown of the events so far, and Helena was amused to note that the older woman’s only real reaction was a sigh. It was evident that she felt the right people were handling things, and that she was used to the household being turned upside down by a mystery. 

“We’re not anticipating any trouble here,” Fenton said, picking up the cue to lead the discussion. “Just keep a watchful eye out when you are out.”

Hannah nodded. There was no need to add that the Drews had a top-of-the-line security system.

“This is going to take all of us to handle,” Fenton said. “It’s more like two cases than one, even if we do expect it to meet in the middle. I’ll be working on the older part of the case, tracking any leads that can still be tracked. It’s possible that after eighteen years, someone may either feel like talking, or have told someone else. Joe, you’ll be keeping an eye on Helena. Frank, you’ll stay with Nancy, and the two of you will be looking at the current run of threats.”

“Nice division of labor,” Joe teased, getting another round of laughs. 

“You can get started by going back to her apartment and seeing if you can figure out where our friendly photographer might had his equipment set up,” Fenton said. Joe was their photography person, in addition to providing the muscle and mischief.

Joe nodded, all business now. 

“Carson, Helena, your task is to act as normal as possible.”

“How am I supposed to do that with your son ‘keeping an eye on me’?” Helena asked with a trace of annoyance.

“He’s good at finding excuses to be places he shouldn’t be,” Nancy said with a smile. 

\---- ----- ----

Nancy waited for the others to start leaving the room, then walked up to the desk where Fenton Hardy was still sitting. Frank paused in the doorway, waiting to see what happened. He’d seen that determined look in her eyes before, usually right before she started a heated discussion with him. It was a little strange to watch her face off against his father.

“Why?” Nancy said quietly. “Why did you tell them to keep me in the dark?”

“It wasn’t their place, and it wasn’t a burden I would put on my sons’ shoulders,” Fenton said steadily. “I felt something this important should come from your father.”

“And if he hadn’t told me? What then?”

“Then I would have told you myself. I had promised your father I would give him time, but only so much.” He faced her squarely. “I would not have started the investigation until you knew, Nancy.”

“I…I want to read the old case file,” she said after a moment. The ground had shifted under her when he hadn’t argued with her, and she felt some of her anger drain away. She knew, in her heart, that Fenton and Laura and her father had not kept the full story from her just to keep a secret, but because they had felt it was for the best. 

He studied her, seeing the resolve in her eyes. “That’s your right. I’ll bring it downstairs for you.”

\----- ---- ----- 

Helena swallowed annoyance as she walked down the hall to her apartment. It wasn’t Joe’s fault that she was stuck with him as… well, as a bodyguard, she decided, as over-the-top as that sounded to her. She had been somewhat mollified at his obvious appreciation of her Porsche – she sensed he was a fellow fast driver. She still couldn’t figure out how she was going to explain him away – her office already employed a pair of law students as general errand-runners, both of them saving for tuition and getting at least a little experience in how an office worked, and Joe definitely was not going to pass for a law student. There was a limit to how far she would go to make Carson feel better.

She reached for the knob as she moved to insert the key.

It turned in her hand.

Helena frowned. She knew she had locked the door before she left yesterday afternoon, on her way over to the Drews’. She always locked the door.

“What’s wrong?” Joe asked, voice quiet.

“The door’s unlocked,” she answered, a cold suspicion settling in her stomach.

She opened the door, and discovered she hadn’t been wrong. When she had left yesterday, the apartment had been neat and tidy. Now, it was a disaster. She could hear Joe calling someone on the phone, but didn’t pay attention to him until he touched her shoulder.

“Backup’s on the way,” he said loudly, and Helena realized he thought the intruder might still be there.

At first glance, it looked like wanton destruction, but the longer Helena looked, the more she realized there was a sick sort of pattern. The expensive stereo system and flatscreen television were untouched, but the framed pictures on the walls had been taken down, glass smashed, frames broken. The portable valuables – the ornate silver candlesticks that stood on her mantel, the small electronics – were still there, but the truly personal things – her photo albums, the photos on the wall – thrown around, broken, violated.

“How does the rest of it look?” Helena asked Joe shakily.

“About the same,” he replied steadily. “I’m pretty sure whoever did it has been gone for awhile. The lock was forced.”

Helena just stared at him for a moment. This cannot be happening to me, she told herself.


	8. Chapter 8

The next three hours seemed to pass by in slow-motion for her. Helena watched the two-man crime scene team process the scene – her apartment. Photographs, fingerprints, the threatening note left on the middle of her bed – all the evidence was collected. She had sorted through the disaster area that had once been her tidy bedroom, putting together a suitcase of clothes and other necessities. Staying here was out of the question.

Fenton Hardy studied the scene with his mouth set in a grim line, the River Heights chief of police standing beside him. The two men had talked briefly, and Helena had noted the friendly, yet professional way they treated each other. She had met Russell McGinis at some function she’d gone to with Carson, but never imagined they would meet at a scene like this. Frank had gone with his brother to follow up on the idea of figuring where the anonymous photographer had taken her picture from. Carson watched silently from the kitchen, but she’d seen the sick look on his face as he had taken in the destruction.

She could almost see the thought in his head – what if she had been here last night, alone? What if she hadn’t yielded to his wish for her to stay? The threatening note with its ominous red square capitals and the malicious destruction in her apartment, especially in her bedroom, were more than enough to scare her. Helena was having a hard time getting the disturbing images of what could have happened out of her head. She had not really, completely, believed Carson before.

She believed him now.

A locksmith came out, installed a new lock. After Chief McGinnis and his people had left, everyone pitched in to straighten things up. Helena couldn’t bear to leave her apartment in a total shambles, but cleaning everything was going to be a day’s worth of work, and they did not have the time, not to do all that she wanted to do. It would have to wait for tomorrow, she told herself sadly, when she could attack the place with every cleaning product she owned.

\---- ---- ----

Nancy sat in the den with the file folder Fenton had given her. She knew she would be unable to focus on the present-day case until she read it. Now that she knew there was a mystery, she couldn’t ignore it. Her mother’s absence was something she had grown used to, simply the way things were and had almost always been. As she had told Laura, Nancy could barely remember anything concrete about her mother. She had grown used to pitying stares from strangers, used to some of the awkwardness that came of having only a single father, especially from people who assumed Carson and Cecily were divorced. Hannah Gruen had filled some of those spaces, but at the same time she had been another way that Nancy was different. There had been some amusing, if embarrassing, moments in which Hannah had been assumed to be her mother, or her grandmother. 

She took a deep breath, then opened the folder as she sat in the sunlight. The story inside was one of sadness and frustration. A majority of the case file had been put into the computer, updated and printed out as recently as the last winter. Fenton Hardy’s handwritten notes were scattered throughout, with a final handwritten page of the most recent information. There was nothing new or spectacular in them, no connection that she could see that had evaded them. The man who had been killed in the car with her mother was a small-time hood, with no connection to her father.

The pictures that accompanied the file were stark, police photographs with no artistry, and Nancy stared at the photo that showed her mother slumped over in the seat for a long time. It was not an image she wanted to carry with her, but she knew it would stick in her mind.

The threatening letters, as well as the clipping from the Chicago paper, were also in the folder, and she read them as well. In the photo that was part of the article, her parents were holding each other and facing the camera. They were obviously happy, and Nancy wondered what about the clipping had prompted the letter-writer to include a copy every time he wrote a letter. It had to mean something for them to go to the trouble, even if she couldn’t see what it was.

“Now you know,” she said softly to the empty room. The problem was, there wasn’t much in the folder to go on that hadn’t already been looked at more than once. At least now she had as much of the story as everyone else. There weren’t many answers in the file, but maybe there were some of the right questions.

\---- ---- ----

Helena watched as Carson set her suitcase down in the master bedroom. “Carson…” She trailed off, trying to search for an adequate word for the situation they were in.

“Would you be more comfortable sleeping in a guest room?” He kept his voice carefully bland. He couldn’t keep thoughts of how her apartment had looked – the destruction, the note, the fact that the dress she’d worn to the benefit where they had been photographed for the paper had been ripped to shreds – out of his head, mixed with the knowledge of what would have happened had she been alone in the apartment. If she hadn’t given into his request last night – and he had known that she didn’t completely believe him, that she had been humoring him – she could have been missing right now. 

She could have been killed.

He would have been responsible again.

“I’ll be fine in here,” Helena said softly. “What do we do now?”

“That’s what we need to figure out,” he said heavily. “I don’t think that our original plan is going to work.” 

“I want to clean up my apartment tomorrow,” Helena said firmly. 

“We can do that,” he answered.

She reached out to lay a hand on his arm. “Are you okay?” It was a question that sounded silly to her as soon as she asked it. He wasn’t any more ‘okay’ than she was, and the situation wasn’t likely to improve. They had a stalker crazy enough to break into her apartment, and they didn’t have the slightest clue who it was. 

“You could have been killed,” he whispered as he wrapped his arms around her. “You could have been killed.”

Helena leaned her head against his shoulder, sliding her arms around his waist and holding him tightly. She could feel the tension in his frame, and didn’t need to look into his face to see the bleak expression in his dark eyes. “We’ll get through this,” she whispered finally when she was sure her voice wouldn’t betray her fear that she was wrong. “We will get through this.”

\---- ---- ---- 

Dinner was subdued. Hannah had brought home what appeared to be an entire deli, and heated up her homemade chicken-and-rice soup. She and Laura had set everything out – bread, cold cuts, cheese, and condiments, as well as some chips – but dinner was strictly self-serve, as the group assembled around the kitchen counter.

“What is on that sandwich?” Nancy asked Joe incredulously, looking at the huge sandwich he was preparing to demolish.

“What’s not on it might be the better question,” he teased. 

She shook her head while making her own less-than-dainty ham sandwich. They could always count on Joe to provide a little much needed break when things got serious. Things were definitely serious, and she cast a concerned glance at her father, who was sitting down with a bowl of the hearty soup. He looked pale and tired. Frank had told her what the apartment had looked like, so she could understand her father looking concerned. Things were moving faster this time, and taking a more violent turn. They needed to find the answers, and soon.

Fenton broke the quiet. “We need to adjust strategy. Acting normal doesn’t look like it’s going to be an option. For whatever reason, this time they’re trigger-happy.”

“Could we not use that phrase?” Carson muttered.

Fenton nodded. “Sorry.”

“I’m willing to close my office. I don’t have anything that requires me to be in court this week, and I can bring what I am working on here,” Helena said. The idea of her office being targeted had occurred to her on the drive home, and she didn’t want anyone else dragged into this. “Tomorrow, I am cleaning up my apartment.”

“Joe will go with you, and I can help as well,” Laura said. “We might find something useful while we’re there.”

“We’ll be trying to track down a few angles,” Frank added.

“So will I,” Fenton answered. “I suggest we let this go for the evening. It’s been a long day.”

There was no argument.

\---- ---- ---- 

“How do you feel?” The two of them had gone out into the back yard, and Frank sat on the deck steps as he watched Nancy idly pull weeds from the flower beds.

“Like I don’t want to think about the case – either case – anymore tonight,” she said quietly. “It’s been a long day.” It seemed like an eternity ago that she had woken up to the rich smell of waffles, and bounced out of bed with a smile. 

“That sounds like a plan.” He watched her dust off her hands and come to sit beside him, leaning her head against his shoulder. “Any chance I could provide you with a distraction?”

“I thought Joe specialized in providing the distractions,” Nancy said lightly, enjoying the feeling of his shoulder under her cheek.

“Depends on what kind of distraction we’re talking about,” Frank replied. 

She lifted her head and smiled at him. “What kind of distraction did you have in mind?”

He bent his head to kiss her, sliding an arm around her shoulders. “I’m sure we can think of something.”

Her only response was to kiss him back.


	9. Chapter 9

“You two look way too serious for a lunch date,” Bess Marvin said cheerfully as she stopped in front of the table. “Mind if I join you?”

Nancy had to smile. It was hard not to be in a good mood when Bess was around. “Go ahead.”

Bess didn’t pick up the turkey wrap on her plate, but studied the two of them for a moment. “Something is going on, then.”

Frank looked around the nearly-deserted outdoor seating area of the sandwich shop. It had been late when he and Nancy had decided to take a break, and now the only people sitting there were the three of them, and a group of older ladies at the other end of the patio. It was a pretty good place to have a conversation they didn’t need the world to overhear. “We’re here on a case.”

“I’m not that blond, Hardy – I figured that much out,” Bess teased. “What brings you all here?”

“It’s about my mother,” Nancy said slowly. “How she died.” 

Bess’s eyes went from interested to sympathetic in a moment. “Nancy…” She reached out and took her friend’s hand. 

Nancy fought back the tears that threatened at the simple show of friendship. “It’s okay,” she said softly, and told Bess the story – what had happened to her mother, and how the stalker seemed to be back.

Bess looked at Frank. “So that’s why you’re in town.”

“For all the good we’ve done, yes.” He and Nancy had spent the morning trying to track down any current leads. There wasn’t much to show for the morning, although they had come to the conclusion that the stalker was staying in River Heights. They’d been able to show that the clipping came from the River Heights paper, not one of the Chicago papers. 

The problem was that they didn’t know how long their stalker had been in River Heights, and that was disturbing. River Heights was somewhat larger than Bayport, and growing, but one of the things it was known for was being the home base of Carson Drew, and to a somewhat lesser extent, Nancy. The only way the stalker could have not known he was moving to Carson Drew’s hometown was if he’d been living under a rock, which supported the theory that the stalker maybe wasn’t playing with a full deck. The fact remained, however, that nothing had happened until the picture of Carson and Helena ran in the newspaper. 

“You’ll figure it out,” Bess said firmly. “Can I help?”

“We haven’t needed a distraction yet,” Nancy said with a hint of a smile. “People are willing to talk, they just don’t have anything useful to tell us.”

“I may need to distract my mother,” Bess said with a laugh. “She wants to get everyone together for dinner, or something. She’s still a little annoyed at your dad for keeping Helena under wraps.”

“That wouldn’t be such a great idea right now,” Nancy replied. “Things are a little tense.”

Bess nodded. “So where is Joe?”

“Ah,” Frank teased, “now we see why you wanted to sit with us.” The three of them laughed, and he watched Bess’s cheeks turn a little pink.

“Well,” she replied, “you two shouldn’t have all the fun.”

\--- --- ---

Joe breathed a sigh of relief as he started the rented Explorer. He knew bodyguard duty was far from the glamorous life some people envisioned, but this was the first time he’d been on an assignment that literally required him to help clean up. The morning they’d spent at Helena’s apartment hadn’t yielded anything useful as far as the case was concerned, but Helena seemed a little more herself. 

“Lunch?” he said hopefully, looking at his mother.

Laura shook her head. “Hannah said something about doing a roast for dinner. Helena, are you hungry?”

“A little,” she contributed from the back seat. “I’m fine with something fast.”

“Your choice, then, Joe,” Laura said. “We’ll take it back to the house.”

He nodded. Fenton had emphasized that it would probably be easier to keep an eye on Helena if they stayed out of public places. “Drive-thru at McDonalds’ it is, then.”

\--- --- --- 

“How do you do it?” Helena asked as the two women sat together in the sunny living room. “How do you stay so calm?”

“Lots of practice,” Laura said with a wry smile. “He told me I’d have to be crazy to marry him, and he was probably right.”

“Doesn’t what they do bother you?” Helena pressed. 

“It worries me,” Laura admitted. She had accepted Fenton’s career, because she had known it was more than a career to him – it was a calling. When he’d come to her and told her he wanted to leave the force to start an agency of his own, it had been something of a relief. That had faded as she had realized that the agency wouldn’t necessarily be any less dangerous, that it would actually mean he was away from home more often. “I can’t stop them, though. I can’t imagine Fenton doing anything else, and for my sons, it seems to run in the blood.” After a moment, she continued. “It’s different with Carson, you know.”

Helena sighed. “I know. He’s not sleeping well at all.”

“He blames himself for Cecily’s death. It’s why he came here, why he refuses to defend anyone he doesn’t believe is innocent. I’m always surprised that he never tried to stop Nancy from being a detective, because of the danger.” Laura frowned, remembering how Carson had seemed uncomfortable with the whole idea of Frank and Nancy as a couple at the beginning of the summer. They’d never had a chance to talk about it, but part of her wondered if there wasn’t some connection. “Carson’s managed to keep the violence out of his home, for the most part. I was so pleased to find out he was finally involved with someone again,” Laura finished.

“I don’t plan to be scared off,” Helena said quietly. “I love him.”

“I’m glad,” Laura quietly. “I just wish someone wasn’t using it against him.”

Helena stood. “I’m going to go use the computer in the office for awhile. I do have some work to do.”

Laura nodded. The office was probably one of the most secure rooms in the house, with no windows. “Try not to have too much fun,” she said, making her voice light.

When the other woman had left the room, Laura sat down in one of the chairs, looking out the window but not really seeing the scenery outdoors. Helena’s quietly defiant statement had pushed her back into the past for a moment, remembering the night before Cecily’s death. Carson had tried to convince her to take Nancy and go stay somewhere. Cecily had pointed out that they had no idea who to be on the lookout for, and insisted that she would be safe enough with Fenton on the job. It had been a happy enough night, likely because none of them had known that it was the last one. Nancy had been enjoying having four adults to entertain herself with, and Laura thought they’d all been glad for the distraction. She could still remember Cecily finally carrying the sleepy toddler off to her room, could still hear the soft lullaby her friend had been singing…

Laura started as she heard her son’s deep voice, the sound breaking her out of the bittersweet reverie. Standing in the doorway, he looked very much a younger version of his father – they both had a tendency to lean against doorframes. “You’re back.”

“Are you okay?” His voice was concerned, and for the first time, Laura realized her cheeks were damp. Nancy stood next to him, an arm around his waist.

“I’m fine,” Laura assured them as they sat down. “I was just lost in the past for awhile. Did you have any luck?”

“Not much,” Frank admitted. “I want to talk to Dad about it. How was the apartment?”

“A disaster area. We didn’t find anything useful,” Laura said. “Helena seems to be doing a little better.”

“Dad’s not,” Nancy said with a frown. 

“He’s worried,” Laura agreed. They were all worried, she thought, and with good reason. “Fenton should be back fairly soon,” she told Frank. “I think you and Nancy should take the night off. Go have dinner somewhere, spend time being a couple. The two of you don’t get enough of a chance to see each other.” She smiled at Nancy. “Especially since you’ve picked my workaholic son.”

“It’s harder to fight through all the other women surrounding the other one,” Nancy teased.

“Are you serious, Mom?” 

“I am. Your father and brother will be here, along with the rest of us. If it makes you feel better, tomorrow night he can go out, and you can stay here.” She looked at him seriously. “Take the opportunity you have. They don’t always come again.”


	10. Chapter 10

It was a little strange, Nancy reflected as she climbed the stairs to the third floor, to be getting ready for a date when they were both in the same house. This was definitely a date, although she had been surprised that Fenton Hardy hadn’t put up some resistance to the idea. His day hadn’t been any more productive than theirs, and it was clear he was frustrated. Nancy could only assume Laura had said something. Her father hadn’t said anything negative, but he’d holed up in his office, where Nancy was hoping Helena could talk him into getting some rest. It was clear he wasn’t sleeping well. 

Nancy turned down the short hallway and saw that the door to the room Frank was using was open. She stopped in the doorway, watching him fasten the buttons on the cuffs of his dress shirt. It wasn’t until she gave a low whistle that he turned and saw her.

“Shouldn’t I be making you wait?” Nancy teased. 

He shook his head, reached for the dark blue paisley tie on the dresser. “Too many decisions about what to wear,” he teased back. 

She watched him knot the tie with quick, sure movements. It had been awhile since she’d seen him in a shirt and tie, at least a year or two – she’d forgotten what the occasion was, but she remembered liking it. It was a good look on him. The dark blue of the shirt went nicely with the tie, and they both went nicely with Frank. “I approve.”

He took a moment to study her from head to toe. The navy dress – vee-neck, wrap front – fit her perfectly, and her hair spilled down around her shoulders. “You look great,” he said after a moment.

“Thank you,” she said quietly, as he stepped toward her. “Ready to head downstairs?”

“In a moment,” he answered, sliding his arms around her waist. “I’ve been wanting to do this all day,” he said softly as he kissed her.

They had made an agreement to focus on the job, but they weren’t on the job now, Nancy thought as she slid her hands over his shoulders and kissed him back.

He pulled away from her, his eyes warm and dark. “We should probably head down.”

\---- ----- ---- 

“I still can’t believe Joe made us pose for pictures,” Frank commented as they drove towards downtown River Heights. Nancy had picked one of the restaurants near the Muskoka River, a favorite of hers. 

“I suspect someone put him up to it,” she replied.

“No, he’s more than capable of finding ways to embarrass us all by himself,” he said, shaking his head. “You’d think we were going to prom or something.”

Nancy laughed. “I think he just wanted to annoy you a little.”

“He’s good at that. The picture will be nice to have,” he admitted. “Just don’t tell him I said that.”

She gave him a smile. “I promise.”

“So where are we eating?” 

“Don Giovanni’s. They have fabulous Italian food, and seating overlooking the river.” She refrained from mentioning that she and Ned had gone there quite a bit. That was one of the disadvantages of living in a smallish town – when you broke up with the guy you had dated since high school, avoiding the places you liked didn’t leave you with a lot of options. So she’d made herself go back there. Now she could walk in the door without being assaulted by unwelcome memories.

“Sounds good.” 

The restaurant was somewhat crowded for a Monday evening, but they were able to get a cozy semi-circle booth in a secluded corner. Frank had to agree that the river view was nice, but he had to admit he enjoyed the inside view more. Nancy sat beside him, blue eyes dancing in the not-strictly-necessary candlelight. They had both decided to go with shrimp scampi, and he watched her contemplating the handwritten dessert menu.

They kept the conversation light, avoiding the investigation by mutual agreement. Frank knew they’d be back at it tomorrow, but for right now he wanted to relax and enjoy what was a relatively rare opportunity. He reached down, taking her hand in his and lifting it to his lips. “This is nice.”

“It is,” she agreed softly. “I wish we could go on a normal date more often.”

“I know.” He was about to say something more, until the waiter appeared with their dinner. The scampi was excellent, as was the cheesecake topped with fresh blackberries that followed it. Dessert finished, they sat there watching the river, Frank’s arm draped around her shoulders as she leaned against him.

“Penny for your thoughts,” he said quietly, glancing down at her.

She tilted her head back slightly to meet his eyes. “Just thinking how much I don’t want this to end.”

He kissed her, one of his thumbs tracing the line of her jaw. “Who says it has to?”

His eyes were dark, fixed on her, his hand still resting against her neck. Before either of them could say anything, a grating voice intruded on their quiet corner.

“Nancy! Ne-“ Brenda Carlton stood in front of their table as Nancy looked up. The woman standing there in the bright red mini-dress had spent a large portion of their school lives annoying Nancy – another disadvantage to growing up in a place like River Heights. For some reason, Brenda’s father had opted not to send her to private school, and she’d been a thorn in Nancy’s side since high school. 

“Brenda,” Nancy said politely. 

“Ooops! I thought maybe you and Ned were kissing and making up,” Brenda said, her voice over-sweet. “I heard about the flowers.”

“Sorry to disappoint you, Brenda,” Nancy replied. “You remember Frank Hardy, don’t you?”

“Of course. How silly of me to have mistaken you for Ned.”

“Anyone can make a mistake,” Frank agreed calmly. “I hope we’re not keeping you from your date.”

“Oh, I’m just here with some friends,” she said, gesturing to a table halfway across the room. 

“We’re just about to be leaving,” Nancy said, praying for the waiter to appear with their check. Even if Brenda left right now, she’d shattered the mood in the restaurant. 

“Maybe we’ll see you later,” Brenda said. 

“I doubt it,” Nancy said flatly. As if in answer to her silent plea, the waiter came to the table, black leather folder extended for Frank to take. Nancy eased out of the booth, grateful to see him doing the same.

“Well, then, I insist you come say hi.” Brenda reached out, snagged one of Nancy’s hands. “Don’t you want to introduce Frank to everyone?”

Nancy gave up. It was clear there was no getting out of this gracefully. “Why not?” she said with an apologetic glance at Frank.

\---- ---- --- 

They walked along the path that wound alongside the Muskoka River, hand in hand. The evening was cooling off a little, and Nancy didn’t object when Frank wanted to go inside the small park at the heart of the River District. It wasn’t a park in the sense of a children’s play area, but more of a landscape garden.

“This is pretty, and private,” Frank said, lips quirking slightly. “More than the restaurant.”

“Sorry about Brenda,” she said. “She enjoys getting on my nerves. I definitely don’t want her to know about this case. It would be like waving a red flag in front of her.” 

He nodded, catching sight of a bench swing hanging from a tree just off the path. “Do you want to sit down?”

She smiled at him. “I’d like that.”

When they were seated, the swing in lazy motion, Nancy leaning her head against his shoulder, he decided to ask the question that had been bothering him for the last half-hour. “What did Brenda mean about thinking you and Ned were making up?”

Nancy sighed. “A few weeks ago – don’t ask me how Brenda found out – Ned sent me two dozen longstemmed roses at work, and a card asking me on a date.” Her voice was quiet, and she could feel him tensing up.

“I see.”

“I thought they would be from you,” she said. “I was so excited. I thought they were to make up for us missing spending the Fourth together.”

He said nothing.

Nancy sat up straight, touched her hand to his cheek. “I ended up giving the flowers to Eleanor,” she said, naming her father’s office administrator. “Flowers couldn’t fix what went wrong between us.”

“What did go wrong?” he asked, voice serious.

Nancy sighed. “We were fighting a lot. He didn’t like that I wanted to study criminal justice, that I wouldn’t give up mysteries. He wanted me to be someone I wasn’t.”

“What did you want from him?”

She looked into his eyes. “I wanted him to share my passion. I wanted him to understand.” She drew in a deep breath. “I wanted him to be you.” She slid her arms around his neck and kissed him, feeling the kiss deepen as he pulled her closer. 

The kiss ended, and Nancy studied him for a moment. She remembered sitting on the steps with him at the cabin, remembered the dark, intense look in his eyes just before Joe had interrupted them. 

That look was back now. “You asked what I was thinking, in the restaurant,” she said slowly. “I never got to finish my answer.”

“What were you going to say?” he asked, his voice a little rough, his arm still tight around her waist. Her hands still rested on his shoulders, and she was very aware of how close they were.

“That I don’t want it to end,” she whispered. “I’m in love with you, Frank.”

“Good,” he said as he leaned forward. “Because I’m in love with you.” He kissed her, his hand sliding into the hair at the nape of her neck.

When they pulled away from each other, Nancy stood, smoothing her skirt. “We should probably be going, before we get into trouble.”

“We could always watch a movie,” he said with a slow smile. “Curl up on the couch…”

“If you think we’re going to make out on the couch with my father, your father and your brother in the house, you are sadly mistaken,” Nancy said with a wry grin.

“It’s not like your father has a shotgun,” he said, smile widening. “I’d be willing to risk it.”

She had to smile back as he took her in his arms. “We should be going,” she said softly, just before he kissed her.

“We should,” he said, taking her hand in his. “Lead the way.”

Nancy frowned as she turned onto her street twenty minutes later. “That’s odd,” she said softly.

“What?” Frank looked ahead, trying to see what she was looking at. Then he saw it – a dark red car, parked along the street in front of the Drews’ house. “It’s a little late for visitors, isn’t it?” He glanced at his watch, seeing that it was almost ten.

“It’s Chief McGinnis.” Nancy would have recognized that car anywhere, as well as the tall man stepping out of the car. “What is he doing here?” She felt a chill along her spine. “You don’t think there’s something wrong, do you?”

“We’re about to find out,” Frank said quietly as Nancy parked.


	11. Chapter 11

“Chief?” Chief McGinnis turned to see Nancy walking towards him, Frank Hardy next to her. He raised an eyebrow as he took in their outfits and joined hands, then smiled. They made an attractive couple, and he knew from experience that they were good partners in detection. It definitely looked as if they had decided to be partners on a personal level as well.

“Nancy. Frank.” He greeted them warmly. “Enjoying a night out?”

“What happened?” Nancy kept her voice level. She was already starting to feel a little silly, since the chief obviously wasn’t in a hurry. It was late at night for a social call, however, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right.

Russell McGinnis realized suddenly how his presence must look to them. “Nothing’s wrong,” he told her. “I dropped by to give Fenton – and you three – a copy of the police report. It’s been a long day,” he finished with a wry grin, as the three of them walked up to the house. “I planned to be here about three hours ago.”

Nancy was reaching for her keys when the door opened. Joe was standing there, with a look of amusement on his face as he let out a low whistle. “Must have been one hell of a date,” he said, earning himself a glare from both his brother and Nancy. 

“Oh, shut up,” Nancy hissed as she walked by him.

“Hey, usually it’s Frank getting me out of trouble.” He laughed. “I have to enjoy the role reversal when I can.”

Fenton Hardy stepped into the hall from the living room. “Russ. We were starting to worry.”

The two men shook hands. “You know how it goes – some days just don’t seem to end,” McGinnis told him. “I imagine it’s worse when you own the agency.”

Fenton nodded. “We’re all in the living room.”

\---- ---- ----

Ten minutes later, Carson was giving McGinnis an incredulous look. “You didn’t find anything?”

“Other than the unidentified fingerprint, no. It’s not in any of the databases – but it’s damn near perfect for evidence if we can find the guy.” Russ McGinnis spread his hands. “You’re not the only one who was hoping for more. I’m sorry, Carson.”

Carson pinched the bridge of his nose. He had been hoping for…something. Anything. A name, an identification that would make this case a simple matter. Something that would make it easy to close, something that would let him sleep easier. “It’s not your fault.”

“We’ve also had surveillance on the apartment, but no luck there. Another day, and I’m going to need to pull that one. I can’t afford to waste the manpower when there’s been nothing interesting. We’re keeping the surveillance on this house, of course, but that’s a little easier to justify, given your history and the fact that Helena is staying here.”

Carson nodded. “I know the department is doing what it can.” Helena looked a little shocked for a moment, then shrugged. 

“We appreciate you coming by so late, Russ,” Laura said after a long moment. “Tell Merry hello for me?”

“Of course, Laura,” McGinnis said as he stood. “I should get home before she starts worrying.”

\---- ---- ---- 

“Why don’t we kick the case around some?” Nancy suggested, as the three of them stood in the hallway. “I’m not tired.”

“See, if you’d been on a date with me, you would be,” Joe teased.

Frank shook his head. Some things never changed, his brother’s irrepressible sense of humor being one of them. “I’ll get out the files.”

“I’ll grab something to snack on,” Joe volunteered.

Nancy followed Frank into the den. She paused to get rid of the heeled sandals she still wore, feeling her bare feet sink into the carpet with relief.

Frank set the file box down, then leaned back against the desk to undo his tie, leaving it draped around his neck. “Do we know how to end a date, or what?”

She shook her head and smiled. “Sorry to kill the mood.”

“I think we can thank the chief for that one,” Frank replied.

Nancy watched him unfasten the top button of his shirt, part of her wishing that they didn’t have a case demanding their attention. She had enjoyed the companionable silence of the drive home, wondering what would happen now. They had taken a pretty serious step – before, when they’d crossed over the lines they had drawn for themselves, they had only admitted to caring about each other, to feeling…something. She wished now that they had stayed in the garden, just a little longer – long enough to avoid meeting Chief McGinnis like they had.

The case wouldn’t go away until they had solved it, though – leaving this one open was not an option. 

“Where is he getting the snacks from?” Frank muttered.

Nancy walked over, slid her arms around his neck. “Do you really care?” she whispered, just before she kissed him. He put an arm around her waist, pulling her against him, and she tightened her hand on the back of his neck as the kiss deepened, lengthened, until she wasn’t thinking about the case…

Joe stood in the doorway for a moment, watching the two of them. He was reluctant to intrude on the moment, since he did that by accident enough – no sense in doing it on purpose. He waited until she pulled away, said something too soft for him to hear, but that made his brother flash a warm smile at her.

“I thought about popcorn, but went with chips and salsa,” Joe said as he walked into the room, watching the two of them try to look as if they hadn’t been trying to devour each other. “And something to drink.”

“Good call,” Frank said. “The last time we had popcorn while we worked, Dad was getting on you about buttery fingerprints.”

The three of them laughed, and Nancy started lifting folders out of the box.

“I’m feeling a little underdressed,” Joe joked, gesturing down at his jeans and t-shirt. “You two look like Detective GQ or something.” Nancy had pulled her hair back in a messy knot, and Frank had his sleeves rolled back, tie still draped around his neck. They really did look like a magazine cover.

“Let’s review,” Frank said as they sat down. “We have someone crazy enough to passively stalk your dad for eighteen years for some as-yet-unknown reason. The picture plays some significant role. According to Chief McGinnis, it’s not someone who’s in the system.”

“The question is, what set this guy off? Was it really just the picture?” Joe asked.

“Assuming it’s the same guy from eighteen years ago,” Nancy began, and they nodded. “What set him off again? What set him off the first time?” She had the file folder of threatening notes in her lap, reading through them as she listened to the brothers debate the slim evidence they had. As near as Nancy could tell, the only thing that the two situations had in common was Carson. Her mother and Helena weren’t the same physical type, didn’t have similar jobs or interests, and weren’t in similar roles. She was lost in thought, unconsciously biting her lower lip.

“We’re not getting anywhere,” Joe said in annoyance. “There’s something here that would make this clear, and we just aren’t seeing it.”

Frank glanced over, and saw Nancy biting her lower lip, her eyes focused on something only she could see. He knew that look – she had hit on something.

“What if we’re coming at this from the wrong angle?” Nancy said suddenly. “What if the threat isn’t from a case Dad won? What if it’s a case the prosecution lost?”

There was total silence for a moment.

“Look at this note,” she said after shuffling through the papers. “Maybe after you’ve lost what was stolen from me, you’ll feel my pain,” Nancy read aloud. “Not ‘what you stole’, but ‘what was stolen’. What if it’s a husband or boyfriend of a victim? That would…”

“Explain a lot,” Frank finished excitedly. “Like why the picture sets him off. Seeing the guy who didn’t win for him enjoying the woman in his life.”

“Do you two have to do that?” Joe complained. “It gets a little creepy.”

“Can’t help it if great minds think alike,” Nancy said with a grin. “It would also explain why the fingerprints aren’t in one of the databases. If he’s not a criminal, he may never have been fingerprinted.”

“It’s an angle we haven’t tried yet,” Joe said with a grin. “Now who wants to tell Dad?”

“We’re going to have to start some of the research all over again,” Frank said, almost to himself, thinking of the job that was going to be.

Nancy looked at the clock, surprised to see almost two hours had gone by. How long had she been lost in thought, she wondered?

“Let’s call it a night,” Joe suggested. “We can corner Dad over breakfast.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Frank agreed, but made no move to get out of his chair. Joe looked from him, to Nancy, then at the ceiling.

“So, I’ll just clean up the snack stuff and I’ll see you two in the morning,” he said. When he left the room, he made a point of closing the door to the den.

Nancy giggled. “You do a pretty good ‘stern look’ there,” she teased.

“With Joe, I get lots of practice,” Frank muttered. He got out of the chair, and crossed over to the couch. “Care to join me?”

Nancy stood, killing the main light switch. Only the moonlight from outside, and the light from the lamp near the door, filled the room, making it cozy and intimate. She sat next to him on the couch, leaning against him as he draped an arm around her shoulders. 

“How long have you been in love with me?” he asked after a long moment.

“Maybe we always were and just didn’t know what to call it,” she said softly, toying with the end of his necktie. “All those times we stepped back from the line we’d drawn, only to keep stepping up to them again.”

“Maybe,” he agreed. 

“It just felt right to say it now,” she said, linking her fingers with his. “What about you?” 

“When I walked into the back yard and saw you sitting in that tire swing,” he said quietly, then kissed her. “It does feel right, being here with you.”

Her hand tightened around his. “I tried not having you in my life. It didn’t work.”

“Don’t worry,” he said, looking into her eyes. “I plan to stay.” He traced the line of her lower lip, then kissed her. She knew she’d be dreaming about this tonight.


	12. Chapter 12

The atmosphere in the house was getting to be a little too tense for Laura Hardy’s taste. Carson was barely speaking to anyone, and she was starting to entertain a private fantasy of spiking his coffee with some sort of sedative, if only because he looked like he desperately needed sleep. It wasn’t the first time she had seen Carson drive himself to the point of exhaustion, but in this case, there was nothing that he could do to affect the outcome. Fenton, in turn, was feeling the pressure of the unsolved cases – not just the fact that they were unsolved, but that they were so personal. There was no getting around the personal stake they all had in this case. Helena was taking the threats against her fairly well, but Laura knew she was feeling the tension too – there was no way she could miss it.

Laura was somewhat relieved when she walked into the dining room, and found the four detectives gathered around the table. She was less than pleased to find her husband and sons still in workout clothes, breaking one of the rules she strictly enforced at home. Fenton looked like he was in a better mood than he had been earlier this morning, however, so she wasn’t inclined to make a big deal out of it.

“Nancy came up with a new idea last night while we were kicking the case around,” Frank said as he took an orange out of the fruit bowl.

“I’m open to new ideas,” Fenton said.

“Well,” Nancy began, setting down the yogurt she had been eating before they returned, “we started looking at the time issue last night, and wondering why there’s such a big gap between the cases. The other problem is the fact that the fingerprints on scene aren’t on file anywhere. So I started wondering – what if the connection isn’t a case Dad won? What if it’s a case where he lost, back when he was a prosecutor? Something similar to this?”

Laura could see her husband starting to turn the idea over. “It could work…”

“I know pretty much all of the threats Dad’s received have been from him doing the job too well, but this idea would account for several things – the way the notes are worded, the huge gap between cases, and if we go with the theory that this person is trying to punish Dad for losing the case, it explains why the focus is on Helena. He could be trying to punish Dad for being happy when he isn’t.” 

“I know it means pretty much starting over on the research angle,” Frank said.

“We’re not getting anywhere with the current angle,” Fenton admitted. “Everything we try keeps hitting a dead end. I’ll contact a source of mine in Chicago, see what I can get for you and Nancy to dig through. Joe can stick with any bodyguard type duties that come up, and I’ll keep pushing on Carson’s list of successes, just in case the new theory doesn’t go anywhere.”

\--- --- ---

Fenton had been able to get them access to casefiles from the appropriate time period through his contacts in the District Attorney’s office, and Nancy was silently grateful to the interns who had spent an entire summer making old case files available in a digital format. After some discussion, the four of them had come up with starting parameters: homicide involving a woman with a male partner not responsible for the death, an unknown assailant, with the court portion of the case happening three to six months before Cecily Drew’s death.

They had been in the den, plowing through files for almost four hours when they found the Jamison casefile. Nancy felt a jolt of excitement as she read over Frank’s shoulder – they’d found a few possible so far, but some instinct told her this was the one. She knew the Hardys would scoff at “feminine intuition”, but there was no denying that sometimes it was right. There had been a few clues that they would have missed without her help in the past, like the female cruise ship thief who had written them a note on a mirror in eyeliner pencil.

It was the involvement of the car, she supposed, that had her leaning towards it. The victim had been found in an abandoned stolen car two days after her disappearance, her body placed in the trunk. Lacey Jamison had been a salesgirl in a department store, likely grabbed in the parking garage where her own car had been found. She had been strangled, likely drugged when she was taken. There had been a suspect initially, a guy who had been not-quite-stalking Lacey, but the charges had been dropped enough proof for charges. There had been no conclusive physical evidence on the scene, and no witnesses to anything related to the crime. Carson Drew had been the prosecutor who had been initially assigned to the case, and who had signed off on dropping the charges. With no leads, the case had ended up on the books as an unsolved homicide.

Five years later, a convicted murderer in Indiana had confessed to the crime, but it had been deemed unconvincing as the guy had been implying he had info on pretty much any unsolved murder in an attempt to delay his date with capital punishment. Lacey had been engaged to Jason Greenfield, a photographer. Nancy tightened her hand on Frank’s shoulder as the name tickled her memory. 

“There’s something about that name – I’ve seen it before.” Nancy frowned.

“Let me consult the oracle,” he said with a grin, opening up a search window. “Have I mentioned lately how much I love the Internet?”

Nancy shook her head, and moved to the table where they had the current casefile spread out. Computers could come in handy, but part of her preferred the old-fashioned method. The name wasn’t an exotic one, but she knew it from somewhere. Inspiration hit her, and she shuffled through the papers as she listened to his fingers tapping on the keyboard.

He spun around in the chair to face her, after a few minutes. “According to the website, he’s a photographer for the River Heights Times, has been for the last five years.”

“More than that,” Nancy said, as she picked up the clipping of Carson and Helena from the Times. “He took this picture.” 

\---- ---- ----

They spent a few minutes organizing the information, intending to find Fenton and lay out what they had found. The raised voices coming from the living room interrupted them, breaking the stillness inside the house. It was rare for her father to raise his voice in anger, but it was raised now.

“Carson, calm down.” Frank recognized his father’s tone. It was the one he employed with clients who were getting overly emotional.

“Calm down? You haven’t done anything of use, and you want me to calm down? He’s close enough to take more pictures, and you want me to calm down?”

More pictures. Nancy felt a little sick. No wonder her father was upset. This case was making everyone a little crazy. She missed whatever Fenton said in response, but her father’s next words came in loud and clear. They made the sickness intensify. 

“Maybe if two of the detectives would spend more time concentrating on the case, and less time on each other, we’d be getting somewhere.”

She knew her father was under a lot of stress right now, but she would never have believed she would hear him accuse her of not working hard enough, of fooling around. She could feel Frank’s hand on her shoulder, knowing it was meant to be a comforting gesture, but in light of what her father was saying, it made her uncomfortable. He said nothing when she shook it off, but then they got a bigger shock when Laura’s voice cut across the argument.

“What is the matter with you two?” Her voice was sharp, loud, and frustrated. “Have you lost it?”

Frank couldn’t hear either of the men, but he could imagine the looks on their faces. His mother rarely lost her temper, but when she did, it could be a little scary. 

“Carson, you need to get some sleep, or get out of the house, or something. I know you’re frustrated, but they’re working on it. You’re not helping. Fenton, you know he’s under a lot of stress.”

When it was quiet, when they had heard someone storm out, Frank and Nancy went into the living room. Fenton Hardy stood by the window, rubbing the bridge of his nose as if it would help with the stress.

“Dad? What’s going on?”

Fenton Hardy gestured at the opened envelope on the coffee table. “There’s been another set of pictures.”

Nancy picked up the envelope, pulled out the pictures without saying anything. She could see why her father had been so upset. The original clipping of Helena and Carson was there, as fit the pattern, along with a pair of much more recent shots – one of Helena standing by the front door, about to open it, and another that captured her outside her apartment. Nancy recognized the outfit Helena had worn the day before in the front-door photo, and she was pretty sure the picture outside Helena’s apartment was from the day they discovered the break-in. 

“Tell me you two found something,” Fenton said wearily. “We could use some good news right about now.”

\--- --- ---

While Frank and Nancy had been digging through eighteen-year-old files on unsolved murders, Joe had found himself roped into going with Hannah on errands. It was unlikely that the Drews’ housekeeper would be targeted, given their mystery man’s focus on Helena, but there was no point in taking the chance. Joe didn’t think he could take five more minutes of paperwork, even though he did think Nancy’s idea was worth following up. They had not exactly been racking up the successes with their previous approach, so the only thing they had to lose was time, and possibly sanity. Joe figured he would been drafted for carrying in bags anyway, and this way he could make sure all his favorite snack foods ended up in those bags.

When they had returned, and he’d carried in what felt like half a grocery store, Joe went to go check in with the other two. He half expected to find them still buried in files, and was surprised to find Frank in the den by himself.

“Where’s Nancy?” Then he saw the look on his older brother’s face, and sighed. “What now?”

“More pictures. Dad and Carson had an argument – a big one – and Carson basically accused me and Nancy of being too busy thinking with our hormones to catch this creep.”

“Are we making any progress?”

Frank’s smile was grim. “Nancy and I found someone with a very interesting past – and present,” he replied, and filled Joe in on Jason Greenfield. When he had finished, Joe let out a low whistle.

“So a photographer with a mysterious dead fiancée and a very possible grudge against Carson Drew moves to River Heights. Even better, he’s the photographer who’s taken pictures of Carson Drew with both women, so even if he wasn’t a suspect, we’d want to have a little chat with him. Sounds pretty suspicious to me.”

“Especially since no one’s seen him for a day or two,” Frank said. “Dad contacted Chief McGinnis about him.”

“Should I cancel my dinner date with Bess then?” Joe hoped not, but he could see the tight line of his brother’s mouth and knew it was a sensitive subject. “You and Nancy went out, remember?” 

He remembered, and sighed. “I know. Talk to Dad.”

\--- --- --- 

Joe wished the storm would break. The weather had turned from warm and pleasant to humid and stuffy, mirroring the increasingly tense atmosphere in the Drew home. Joe was glad to escape for the evening. He was looking forward to Bess’s uncomplicated company. 

He’d missed the actual argument between his father and Carson Drew, but the aftermath was making everyone edgy. Nancy had holed up in the den, refusing all efforts to get her to come out – even Frank’s. Helena and his mother had been watching a movie when he had left, both making a determined attempt to maintain an atmosphere of normality. Frank had joined them, pretending to be working on his laptop, but somehow Joe doubted that much was getting accomplished from the way he kept catching his older brother staring off into space. Neither Carson nor Fenton had put in an appearance lately, and that was probably for the best.

“I was thinking we could drive over to Mapleton,” Bess said once she had picked him up. “Grab some dinner at the mall, maybe see a movie…”

“And maybe look into one or two stores?” Joe asked teasingly.

“Maybe. Unless it’s going to take extra-hard arm-twisting.” She smiled at him. “Are you up for it?”

He thought that he would have sat through a double-feature historical chick flick as long as it meant he was out of the house for a few hours.

She waited until they were seated in a corner booth in the sandwich shop, their orders in front of them – a Chinese chicken salad wrap for herself, a gigantic bacon cheeseburger for Joe – before asking the question that was on her mind. “What’s wrong?”

He deliberately took another bite, buying himself some time. The people who thought Bess was a stupid blonde greatly underestimated her. She understood people, what made them work, and what made them do the things they did. It also made her good at spotting when someone close to her was not telling the truth. “What do you mean?”

“You haven’t said a single word about the progress you’re making,” she said quietly. “That means there is a problem. How is it going?”

He shrugged. It wasn’t that things were spiraling horribly out of control. If they hadn’t all been inside the case, he would have been fairly optimistic. They had identified a likely perpetrator, had a definite focus for the investigation, protection as needed, and they had a fairly solid grasp on the case. However, they were inside it, living intimately with the stress of the investigation, and it was affecting people. It was making him antsy. 

“It could be better,” he said after a moment. “But it’s moving along. Nancy had one of her brainstorms last night when we were kicking the case around.”

“Didn’t they have a date last night?” Bess shook her head, momentarily distracted from her question.

Joe grinned at her – one of the reasons they got along so well was that they often thought along the same lines. They were the flirts, the charmers, the comic relief when things got too serious, and neither of them backed down easily. “Well, after Chief McGinnis brought them home…“ 

He laughed as Bess looked at him, eyes wide, before they narrowed in suspicion. “Joe…” Her tone was stern for a whole minute before she gave in to the laughter.

When he had explained everything – Nancy’s insight and Carson Drew’s reaction, including the fight with Fenton Hardy – Bess shook her head. “Poor Nancy. How is she holding up?”

He thought about the tension between his brother and his friend, tension that hadn’t been there last night. “She’s holding up, but we need to close this thing.”

Bess looked as if she wanted to ask more, but she shifted the conversation to telling him about her day, light anecdotes that were more entertaining than when they had actually been happening. It helped Joe shake off his worries and just relax.

\---- ---- ----

After a quick perusal of the display outside the theater, they had decided to skip the movie. Joe didn’t mind shopping trips very much, since he did have an interest in clothes. The mall was relatively new and airy, the dying sunlight of the day competing with the artificial lights, and her company was helping him forget about the tension for awhile. Window shopping was fun, especially since his companion wore a stylishly short summer dress in pale pink. Bess might complain about trying to lose a few extra pounds, and she wasn’t the serious athlete that her cousin George was, but Joe was of the opinion that all the extra pounds were in exactly the right places.

As a result of her company, he was in a much better frame of mind when it happened. They were standing in front of Lady Foot Locker, discussing George’s upcoming birthday and the need for a gift, when they were interrupted.

“Bess! I haven’t seen you in forever.”

She turned, saw Ned Nickerson standing there. “It has been a long time, Ned.”

He reached out, touched the ends of her hair. “When did you do this?”

“Oh, awhile ago.” She gave Ned a little hug. “How are you?”

“Staying busy, working.” He realized after a moment that she wasn’t alone, and Bess could see on his face when he recognized who was standing next to her. “I didn’t realize you had company, sorry.”

“You know Joe, of course.” Bess kept her tone even. “They’re visiting River Heights.”

Joe offered his hand, and after a slight hesitation, Ned took it. “It’s been a few years.”

“So it has,” Joe agreed. The last time the brothers had been in River Heights, they had been pursuing a case. Back then, Nancy and Ned had still been an item, and Ned hadn’t been too thrilled to see them show up at his girlfriend’s house.

Formalities over, Ned turned back to Bess. “Well, I don’t want to hold you two up. Say hi to Nancy for me, will you?”

“Too bad she and Frank couldn’t make it a double date,” Joe said, watching Ned’s spine stiffen, but the other man said nothing, just gave Bess a friendly hug before moving on. 

Bess turned on him as soon as Ned was out of earshot. “That was uncalled for, Hardy,” she said sharply. “He isn’t a bad guy, just not right for Nancy.”

“I can’t help not liking him,” Joe said, a little taken aback at Bess’s defense of the guy who had dumped one of her two best friends. “It might have something to do with looking at my brother like he wouldn’t mind him disappearing off the face of the planet.”

“He’s been part of our lives for a long time. I still consider him a friend,” Bess said, her tone chilly. “I don’t like my friends to be rude to other friends.”

They walked along in silence for a few minutes before he sighed. “I’m sorry. I should have kept my mouth shut.”

She turned to look at him. “Yes, you should have.” It was another moment or two before her face softened. “Apology accepted.”

\----- ---- ---- 

_She knew him, thought she would know him anywhere, just the way he stood, the line of his shoulders._

_“Frank.” She called his name, then felt a shock as he turned. It wasn’t Frank. It was Fenton Hardy, younger than she could remember him. Nancy looked around her and recognized the scene – not from anywhere she had been, but from photographs. It was the scene of her mother’s death. Against her will, her eyes were drawn to the car where her mother’s body was slumped in the passenger seat, reddish blonde hair shielding her face._

_“You have to find what we missed,” Fenton said softly, standing beside her._

_“We think we did,” she said. “We just have to find him.”_

_He regarded her gravely. “It’s not over yet,” Fenton said, and walked away from her, walked towards the car, towards her mother. She watched as he examined the body, the car, the scene. She thought she heard him say softly, “I’m sorry”._

_In another moment, she stood at her mother’s grave, and looked into her mother’s eyes. Cecily Drew stood there, dressed in pale gray. Her face was bruised and cut, like Nancy imagined it must have been in real life – or death. Her expression was gentle and knowing as she looked at her daughter. Nancy looked down in confusion – the grave was open at her feet, an empty dark hole that scarred the soft green grass. She realized a second later that it wasn’t empty, that there was a gleaming dark casket at the bottom, lid closed. She saw as well now that the headstone was different, wrong. Instead of her mother’s name, Helena Radecki was inscribed, the letters new and sharp against the dark gray stone._

_She knew, somehow, that she dreamed, but she felt a cold shiver along her spine as her mother spoke to her. “You have to stop it. He can’t take it again.”_

_“I’m trying.” She could hear uncertainty in her own voice. “We’re getting closer.”_

_“He needs her.” There was no jealousy or bitterness in that voice, just gentleness. “Don’t let him down.”_

_She wanted to protest that she was doing her best, that they were all doing their best. “I won’t. I promise.”_

_“Don’t be too hard on him,” Cecily said after a moment. “He loves you. And I love you.”_

_She went to step around the headstone, went to throw herself into her mother’s arms…_

… And woke up, her mother’s voice still in her ears as she sat up in bed, fighting off disorientation. She was surprised to feel tears on her cheeks. A glance at the clock told her it was after one in the morning.

Fifteen minutes later, she gave up sleep as a lost cause, and crept downstairs. She wouldn’t let her father down – or her mother. 

\---- ---- ----

He couldn’t sleep. The tense atmosphere in the house had killed any attempts at trying to be social, but it hadn’t made falling asleep any easier. He had tried reading, but he couldn’t really concentrate on what he was reading, nor was it making him sleepy. Finally, Frank gave up, threw a t-shirt on over the running shorts he’d worn to bed, and went downstairs. 

It was a habit of his to prowl the house when he couldn’t sleep. Growing up in a household with Fenton Hardy had made him just slightly paranoid about locks and alarms, and sometimes checking all of them was enough to help him relax. The Drews’ house was familiar, if not as familiar as the house he had grown up in, and he didn’t find anything out of place – until he came to the den and spotted a faint glow, the door slightly open.

He was pretty sure their current prime suspect would not have broken in to paw through their files, much less been able to defeat the alarm system, but he still moved cautiously to the door and pushed it gently to look inside. The lamp on the desk was turned on, but no other lights. She was standing in front of the window, staring out into the dark, arms crossed over her chest, her shoulders slumped. He stepped into the den, closed the door gently behind him. “Nancy?”

She turned her head to look at him. “Frank.”

“What are you doing down here?”

“I couldn’t sleep.” She turned away from the window, flipped her ponytail over her shoulder. 

“Join the club,” he said softly, trying to get a smile out of her. They all needed one. The last couple days had not been good for anyone.

“I had a… weird dream about my mother, couldn’t fall back asleep after it. I thought I would see if maybe there’s something we’re missing.” She didn’t want to explain it, didn’t know if she could really explain it.

“Find anything?”

She shook her head. “I didn’t really expect to, but it beat laying there in the dark thinking about everything that is going on.”

He looked at the lacy blue camisole and blue-and-white flowered pajama pants she wore, and thought that he would be willing to help her take her mind off what was going on, laying down in the dark or not. It was the middle of the night, and they were the only two awake in the house.

“The whole thing with Dad is what’s driving me crazy,” Nancy continued. “I try not to, but the thought keeps sneaking in that if this guy wasn’t threatening Helena, this case wouldn’t exist. He would have kept me in the dark about it forever. Then, what he said today, it really hurt.”

“I’m sure he’ll apologize when he’s thinking straight,” he said quietly.

She nodded. “Probably.” At least she hoped so.

“I could help you take your mind off that,” he offered in a low voice.

“Good.” She gave him a slow smile. “Because I don’t want to think about it any more tonight.”

She switched off the desk lamp, and walked over to him in the dark, reached up to slide her arms around his neck, and let him help her not think about it.

\--- --- ---

They had settled in one of the comfy chairs, a decision which required her to sit on his lap. Neither of them had a complaint about this, and Nancy let herself relax and not think, just enjoy.   
Until she looked out the window behind them, and saw the shadow slipping around the side of the house.

“Frank.” She said his name once, then more sharply as she realized it had not made an impact. 

His lips stilled on the side of her neck. “Mmmm?”

The sound of his voice, all warm and soft and distracted, made her wish she hadn’t seen that shadow. “There’s someone outside.”

He straightened up so fast she almost fell to the floor. “Are you sure?”

“Going around the corner.” She stood so he could get out of the chair.

“Let’s go introduce ourselves, shall we?”

They paused in the front hall long enough for Nancy to grab a hooded sweatshirt, and then they were outside in the still-stifling night air. By unspoken agreement, they split up, heading in different directions around the house. Nancy wondered about the patrolman who was supposed to be watching the Drew house – she’d seen no sign of him or a police vehicle. 

The trespasser – Nancy couldn’t tell in the dark if it was Jason Greenfield or not – was trying to get into the back yard. He carried a large black bag that she thought might be camera equipment, but she couldn’t be sure. 

She was trying to decide if she could retreat, grab Frank for some backup, when the trespasser turned and saw her. The black bag dropped with a heavy thud as he took off, and Nancy chased after him.

“Frank!” 

He turned as he heard Nancy’s yell, recognizing it not as a cry for help, but a call for assistance, and turned to run. Frank had cleared the front of the house, when he heard the front door bang open. He glanced behind him, saw his younger brother charge out, although he hadn’t bothered with a t-shirt. 

They saw Nancy near the street, breathing hard as she knelt in the grass, and beyond that, the shadowy figure getting into some sort of sports-utility vehicle. 

“Too fast for me,” she said in between gulps of air. “Pretty fast for a guy his age.”

The light over the license plate was out, making it impossible to make out the letters. Nancy wanted to scream with frustration. They’d been so close, and missed.

“What the hell’s going on out here?” The three of them turned, saw their fathers standing there in the doorway.

“Are you okay?” Frank offered Nancy a hand. 

She nodded. “Just out of breath.” She stood, didn’t let go of his hand. “He got away. He was right here and we let him get away.”

He tightened his hand around hers. “He won’t next time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: In retrospect, I should have made this two chapters, but am sticking to original publishing order.


	13. Chapter 13

Cop cars parked in front of the Drew house weren’t exactly anything new. Nancy figured their neighborhood had gotten over it when she’d been in high school. Some of them, like the Coopers who lived next door, had good reason to not mind the police presence. After all, Nancy had proved that their daughter had not committed a murder that she’d been accused of. It was a rarity for her to be outside talking to the cops in pajama pants, but she wasn’t the only one. Joe had found a t-shirt, but the news photographer had already snapped the shot of him without one. Nancy hoped Bess enjoyed the morning paper.

Her father was livid, and Nancy felt about two steps away from losing her cool. He seemed suspicious about why she had been downstairs. It had been all she could do to point out that they had only even come close because they’d been downstairs.

Not close enough. There were no identifying remarks in the bag of camera equipment, but the contents were worth at least seven grand. Jason Greenfield – Nancy had little doubt about who she had been chasing, proof or not – had taken a bit of a hit, but she wondered what his plan had been. Surely he had not intended to break in. It helped support the theory that Greenfield was getting desperate enough to do something stupid, and Nancy wondered why.

By the time the police left, the sun was starting to rise. Laura and Hannah set to work on breakfast, not that she expected anyone to have that much of an appetite. She knew there was no hope that anyone would be going back to sleep.

\--- ---

Two mornings later, Helena sat on the deck in the back yard, sipping her coffee. It was overcast, and the clouds looked heavy with rain. The air seemed charged with anticipation, waiting for the inevitable storm to break.

Much like inside the house, Helena mused. Tension levels had not decreased, but things hadn’t gotten any worse. Thankfully, Carson had a work commitment that was going to get him out of the house for the better part of the day. She hoped a taste of normalcy might improve his outlook. 

The sound of the sliding door made her look up. Fenton Hardy joined her, carrying his own coffee cup. “Mind if I sit down?”

She shrugged. “Be my guest.”

“Greenfield hasn’t made an appearance anywhere in the last two days. Home, work, nowhere. I think he must really be getting desperate.”

“He’s not the only one,” Helena said softly. 

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Oh?” Helena studied the detective. She had gotten to know him fairly well over the last few days, and she had read up on him. He was known for being cool and methodical, but every now and then, 

Fenton Hardy pulled what appeared to be a desperate and risky move to clinch a case – and his success rate on those cases was pretty good. She had the feeling she was about to see it in person.

“I have an idea, but only if you’re willing to play along. How would you like to get out of the house, maybe go by your apartment and office?”

“I could be interested,” Helena said. 

“I think if we give Greenfield a chance, he’ll try to grab you.”

“You want me to be bait,” she said flatly.

Fenton looked her straight in the eyes. “Yes. I want him to make a move while we can control the situation.”

She thought about the last few days, the tension, the strain. The possibility of failure, and what it would mean for all of them. “Carson will be pissed.”

“Carson would say no, because he’s scared to death of losing you. That’s why I’m asking you, because it has to be your decision.”

“And if I say no?”

“Then I go back to the drawing board. But I don’t think you’ll say no.”

She gave him a thin smile. “What’s your plan?”

\--- ---

The drive to the office was uneventful. Helena was happy to get behind the wheel for a while. She knew the place could run without her, but she would be happy to get back to her job.   
Her normal life, she corrected. One that did not involve Fenton and Joe Hardy tailing her. One that didn’t involve quite so much tension or require cloaks and daggers. One where she could relax, and one where Carson wasn’t so miserable.

Helena parked her car and killed the engine. She was a little nervous about actually going up to her apartment – what if Greenfield had broken in again? What if he was waiting for her up there? At the same time, she almost wanted him to be, so that this could be over.

She was so busy thinking about him being inside that Helena didn’t see the man step out of the trees ringing the parking lot until it was too late, and he was close enough for Helena see the pistol he was pointing in her direction.

“Get back in your car,” he said calmly. “Do what I say or else.”

Helena opened the door slowly and slid in, watching as Greenfield walked around the front of the car, then opening the passenger door. It was definitely Greenfield, but he looked like he had been having a rough time, with heavy dark stubble and bloodshot blue eyes. He kept the gun pointed at her, much closer than she wanted. 

“Drive. Take the road to Muskoka State Park. Don’t do anything stupid or try to attract attention. I will shoot you.”

Helena turned the key in the ignition, and prayed Fenton Hardy was prepared for this move.

The Porsche passed them, with an extra passenger.

“I thought for sure he would be in the apartment,” Fenton said with a curse.

Joe pulled out his cell phone, and dialed Frank, putting it on speaker. “Greenfield is in her car, forcing her to drive away from the apartment complex and town.”

“They’re probably headed for Muskoka State Park,” Nancy’s voice came over the line, excited. “Wooded areas, a lake. Probably not too crowded during the week.”

“We’re following behind,” Fenton said. “How long would it take you to get out here?

“Not long at all,” Nancy said. “We’re on the way.”

Joe hung up, excited in spite of the situation. It was a novel experience to be paired up with his father. Not that he and Frank didn’t make a great team, but Joe did like a change every now and then. Plus, he’d seen how Nancy could drive when their lives depended on it, and he knew they would be close behind. “What’s the plan?

“Hope we can follow them without Greenfield catching on. Once we get there, we have to take him out.”

\--- ---

Helena focused on driving, trying not to think about how isolated parts of the state park could be. She hoped Greenfield didn’t notice the vehicle staying a little behind them. He kept his eyes on her, or the road ahead. She willed herself not to panic when they dropped further back, telling herself that they couldn’t risk getting too close. The road was fairly narrow and deserted, and so far no one had passed them from the other direction. 

Out of reflex, she hit the brakes when she saw the deer in the road. Greenfield grabbed the wheel, and the sudden motion sent them skidding. She tried to correct, but it was too late.

The next - and last - thing she saw was the tree.

The Hardys heard the crash, and sped around the bend to find Greenfield getting out of the car, looking rough and a little shaky. The driver’s side was damaged, the front of the car smashed in by the impact. Fenton’s heart dropped, and he wondered if he was about to relive one of his worst nightmares. At least this time he had some backup.

“Check the car,” Fenton ordered Joe tersely, drawing his own pistol before exiting the vehicle.

Joe eased out of the car on his side, watching his father watch Greenfield. The car was definitely going to need a trip to the body shop, but it wasn’t going to explode or catch on fire. It looked like Helena was unconscious. She had definitely looked better – facial lacerations weren’t flattering to anyone, and head wounds tended to bleed, but nothing life-threatening. Still, it was like an echo of the past. He’d seen the crime scene photos, and knew his father had to be thinking about it.

He could hear his father talking calmly to Greenfield, and started to circle around their vehicle. No point in trying to get Helena out of the car right now, not while Greenfield was on the loose.

“Give it up, Greenfield, before you do something that will get you into real trouble.” Fenton Hardy kept his voice calm, relaxed. “It doesn’t have to go down like this.”

“Someone has to pay!” Greenfield yelled, waving the pistol. “For Lacey, someone has to pay. He made her case go away. He didn’t care!”

“He cared, but there was only so much he could do,” Fenton replied soothingly. “He only had so many resources. We could help you.”

“Why would you help me?”

“I know how painful it is not to know. Carson knows too, Jason.”

Fenton saw Greenfield’s face twist, knew he had said the wrong thing.

Joe crouched behind the vehicle, dialed Chief McGiniss’s private line. “It’s Joe Hardy,” he said tersely. “We’ve got Greenfield out here at Muskoka State Park. We need help, and an ambulance.”

He had just hung up when he heard two things at the same time – the approach of a vehicle and a pair of gunshots.

Greenfield stood staring at Fenton Hardy as the detective staggered backwards, then collapsed. Joe fought the urge to rush forward – he wasn’t armed himself, not even a water pistol, and getting himself shot would not help matters. Greenfield raised the pistol again, and Joe prepared to charge, unsure if the man intended to fire at his father again or shoot himself. Either way wasn’t good. It was a long moment, broken only by the sound of screeching brakes and running footsteps.

Greenfield turned towards the woods, staggering at first and then taking off at a run. Joe took off after him. He was not going to lose Greenfield this time.

He turned his head, saw his brother and Nancy coming at a run. “Frank! He’s not getting away this time!”

The scene looked bad – the wrecked car, his father lying on the ground, the fleeing suspect. Frank knelt by his father, reaching for the pistol Fenton wore in a shoulder harness, forcing himself not to dwell on the blood soaking his father’s shirt. Fenton’s eyes were open but dazed. His father’s lips moved, and Frank knew what he was trying to tell him. His brother needed him – Joe was out there, chasing after a guy with a gun.

He looked at Nancy, saw she was already kneeling so she could put pressure on Fenton’s wounds.

“Go help Joe,” Nancy told him. “Don’t let him escape!”

Following the trail didn’t take too much work. He was more of a distance runner, but he was able to close the distance in time to see Joe leap and tackle Greenfield. Unfortunately, the momentum took the pair of them down over a drop, rolling and struggling. When Frank was able to make his way down the slope, Joe was trying to knock the pistol out of Greenfield’s hand. Frank was able to oblige with a well-aimed kick, and the two of them managed to wrestle Greenfield into submission, with Joe kneeling on his back. 

“We’d suggest that you not do anything,“ Frank said dryly. “You’re outnumbered and outgunned.”

In the distance, he could hear the wail of sirens, followed by a crack of thunder.

“Sounds like help is on the way,” Joe said. 

Frank thought it had never sounded better, especially as the rain began to fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: New work, written for WIP Big Bang 2018


	14. Chapter 14

He really didn’t like hospitals.

It had been a long afternoon. The police and ambulance had arrived, with Joe opting to ride in the ambulance. Joe needed treatment himself, having been pretty banged up during his roll down the hill. Frank and Nancy followed in the two working vehicles. Chief McGinnis had agreed to come do statements at the hospital, and Helena’s car was being towed.

Frank leaned his forehead against the window, eyes closed as he felt the rain-cooled glass against his skin, the sound of the steadily falling rain somewhat soothing. He had a vicious tension headache, and he was vaguely aware that it had been some time since he ate. He’d tried while he was forcing Joe to eat something and take his painkillers, but he had only managed half of the sandwich before it turned to sawdust in his mouth. Normally, he would laugh at the idea of needing to force his younger brother to eat, but with their father here in the hospital, neither of them was feeling anything close to normal. Fenton had undergone surgery for the shoulder, and Helena was being kept for observation due to her head injury.

He was so lost in his thoughts he didn’t hear her come up behind him. Frank started slightly as Nancy slid her arms around his waist, leaned her cheek against his back, and said nothing. She simply stood there holding him, and after a long moment he rested one of his hands over hers.

“How’s Mom?”

“Hannah is sitting with her, and my father,” Nancy assured him quietly. “She’s trying to convince both of them they should go home, eat a real meal, and have some real sleep.” 

Frank sighed, thinking of Laura Hardy’s iron will. “Good luck with that.”

“Hannah can be very persuasive.” Nancy said. “There’s not anything they can do right now, except wait.” She drew in a deep breath, knowing this next part was going to be tricky. “I don’t think it would hurt you and Joe either, to go back to the house and crash out for a few hours.”

He said nothing. She knew he was seeing it in his mind, seeing Fenton’s unconscious body laying at the accident scene, Helena unconscious in her car. Their prognosis was good, but they were going to be stuck in the hospital overnight at the least.

“Frank?”

He could hear the worry in her voice. It only added to the guilt he was feeling.

“Frank?” she repeated, a little more insistently.

“Tell Mom, if she’ll go back to the house and get some sleep, I’ll stay until she comes back. If she takes Joe, that’ll be even better.”

“Okay.” She tried to step away, but found he was still holding on to her hand. They turned to face each other.

“Stay with me?”

“Of course,” she said, looking into his eyes for a long moment before she stepped forward and slid her arms around his neck, feeling his arms wrap around her. “It’s going to be all right,” she whispered.

“I hope so.” He’d hated leaving her behind, without anyone to protect her, but he hadn’t had another choice. 

“I know so,” Nancy said, forcing a confidence she didn’t quite feel into her voice.

He hoped she was right.

\---- ---- ----

Laura looked up as the door opened, and Nancy slipped inside, closing the door behind her quietly.

“How is he?” Laura asked. 

Nancy sat in the other chair. “Tired. Worried. A little scared. Blaming himself.”

Laura nodded. “That all sounds familiar.” She sat close to the bed, Fenton’s hand lightly clasped in hers. “Frank’s very much like his father that way.”

“I got him to agree that we’d stay here, if you three would go get some rest,” Nancy said after a moment. 

“Did he actually agree to leave when we came back?” Laura asked, a knowing smile on her face. 

Nancy shook her head. “He will, even if I have to have Joe carry him out to the car for me.”

“They can be hard men to live with,” Laura said after a long moment. She’d spent a fair amount of time in hospitals and emergency rooms, and enough nights sleeping alone, to take a lot in stride. This injury, for example, could have been so much worse. His shoulder could have been more seriously damaged – or worse. Fenton was pushing forty-nine, and while he was still in excellent shape, at some point he was going to have to take things a little easier. “Hard men to be in love with,” she said softly.

“He keeps seeing it in his head, trying to figure out what he missed,” Nancy said, almost to herself. Laura wondered if Nancy was referring to Fenton or Frank, or both of them. “What we missed, really, but he’ll take all the blame on himself.” She studied Fenton’s bruised face, remembered the feel of his blood on her hands as she applied pressure, remembered Frank and Joe in hot pursuit, remembered yelling at Frank to go, and remembered her relief when the EMTs arrived with Chief McGiness. She thought about how it could have been Frank in the hospital bed, if things had gone differently.

“It does no good to tell them to stop that,” Laura sighed. “They might stop talking to you about it, but they don’t stop thinking about it. Better that they have someone to talk through it with.”

They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes. Laura watched the younger woman, thinking how much she wanted to ask Nancy if she was in love with her son. She was relatively sure she knew the answer – she saw the way the two of them looked at each other, the way they touched each other – but she wondered if they had acknowledged it. The relationship between the two of them was a complicated one, but Laura believed they belonged together. There was a slightly selfish part of her that wanted to see them walk down the aisle together, just as she and Cecily had laughed about when they were babies, but more than that – she wanted for both of them to be happy. 

The pressure of his hand around hers brought Laura out of her reverie, and she looked down to see her husband’s dark eyes open. “Fenton!”

“Laura.” His voice was scratchy. “Nancy.”

“How do you feel?” Laura asked, her voice a little unsteady.

“Waking up to the two of you helps,” he said as she elevated the head of the bed a bit, then helped him with the glass of water. “Painkillers would be great. How is everything?”

The question covered a lot of ground, but Laura went with the simple answer. “Better than earlier today.”

Nancy rose. “I’ll be back,” she said as she opened the door. She wanted to give the two of them a moment alone, and she wanted Frank to see his father awake. It would do both of them some good.

\--- --- --- 

He was in the hallway, still looking out the window. This time, he actually heard her, and turned. As soon as he saw her face, Frank felt a little of the weight on his shoulders lift. Nancy would hardly look that happy if it was bad news.

“Your dad’s awake.” She reached out for his hand. “Have you seen your brother?”

Frank shook his head. “Not lately. Maybe he actually took someone’s advice and took a nap.”

When they opened the door to the hospital room, Laura was leaning down to rest her cheek against Fenton’s, his good arm wrapped around her waist. His eyes were closed, but his lips moved as he said something too softly for them to hear. Nancy felt as if she and Frank were intruding, but then Laura straightened, brushing her lips against her husband’s cheek. There were tears in her eyes, but she smiled at them. “Ah, you found him. Where is Joe?”

“Good question,” Nancy said lightly, standing by the door as she watched Frank take a seat next to the bed. “We didn’t see him.”

“I’ll try to find him,” Laura said as she walked towards the door. Nancy followed her into the hallway.

In the hallway, Laura leaned against the wall and closed her eyes. The shakes she always got after a situation like this had her wrapping her arms around herself. Nancy touched her shoulder, concerned. “Are you okay?”

Laura nodded, wiped at her eyes. “It’ll pass. It’s just hard on all of us when something like this happens.”

Nancy considered that a major understatement. It wasn’t the crazy situations they got into that did the most damage, but the times like this when they had time to reflect on what had happened. “Why don’t I try to find Joe, and you take a couple minutes for yourself?”

“That sounds like an excellent idea,” Laura said after a moment. “After that, I think I’ll check on your father.”

Nancy realized guiltily that she hadn’t given her father or Helena much thought in the last hour or so. She’d been more worried about Frank than her father.

\---- --- -----

“So, what happened?” Fenton asked. “I don’t remember much after screwing up and getting shot.”

Frank studied his father, seeing how pale he was under the bruises, swallowed hard. “The cavalry showed up, pretty much. Nancy stayed with you while we chased him down, and then the police put in an appearance. Joe’s a little worse for the wear, and Helena’s in about the same shape as you.”

Fenton looked him in the eye. “You don’t look so great yourself.”

“Just tired. We’ve been worried.”

“You should get some rest.”

“Mom and Joe are dragging Carson off to get some first. Nancy and I are staying here.”

Fenton said nothing. It was hard to argue with someone who was doing the exact same thing he would have done, especially when he was the one who had trained him. “You three have done a hell of a job,” he said finally.

“We did have some help,” Frank answered, smiling a little.

Joe opened the door, and saw his father and older brother talking. Even after Nancy telling him that things were okay, it was still a relief to open the door and see Fenton sitting up. Frank looked like hell, Joe thought, and coming from the guy with half his face turning into a bruise, that was saying a lot.

“Dad!” He dropped into the chair next to Frank. “Glad to see you awake.”

“You look a little worse for the wear,” Fenton said wryly. 

“You know me,” Joe said with a laugh. “I’ll just have to get someone to kiss them all better.”

“After you get some rest,” Frank said. “You and Mom are taking Nancy’s father to the house. You may have to knock him over the head.”

Joe wanted to argue – Frank was the one who looked like he might drop – but the look in his brother’s eyes discouraged him. “Nancy’s staying?”

Frank nodded. “We both are. Go get some sleep, and something to eat.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Joe quipped. He’d have to trust Nancy to handle his brother, but Joe was pretty sure she was up to the task.

\---- ---- ----

Nancy touched her father’s shoulder. “Dad?”

He looked up at her, blinked. “How is Fenton?”

“Awake, asking for painkillers. How is Helena?”

He sighed. “Unconscious still. She took a pretty nasty hit on the head, and the broken ankle’s not going to be much fun.” There was no point in mentioning the facial lacerations – they were minor enough. He had wanted to keep her safe, and almost failed her.

“You should go home,” Nancy said firmly.

“Laura said the same thing.” He leaned his head back. “I don’t want to leave her alone.”

“I’m going to sit with her,” Nancy said gently. “Frank and I are staying.”

“You two should be leaving,” he said quietly. The young detectives had done some excellent work today, and he was grateful – and guilty. His remarks to Nancy a few days before came back to him, vivid and ugly. He needed to apologize, but knew this wasn’t the best time. 

“He won’t leave yet,” Nancy said, “and I won’t leave him alone. Let Hannah take care of you, Dad.” She stood, opened the door. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

When the door closed, Carson sighed again, running his hand over Helena’s limp one. She was in this hospital bed because she’d gotten involved with him, and he had no idea how that would make her feel about him when she woke up. He bent to kiss her cheek, and wished, again, that it was him lying there instead of her. The doctors had told him there wasn’t much to worry about, that sleep like this was the body’s way of healing, but he doubted he would really rest until he saw her eyes open again, until he could tell her how sorry he was. 

“I love you, Helena, so much. Please wake up soon,” he whispered in her ear, tracing the line of her cheek.

\--- --- ---- 

Hours later, Nancy stood and stretched. If she didn’t move around some, she was going to fall asleep in the chair, and she knew she’d regret that. It wasn’t made to sit in comfortably, much less sleep in. Helena had come around a little earlier, but the painkillers the doctor had ordered had put her back out in pretty short order. Nancy had talked briefly with her, seen the relief in her eyes when she told Helena Carson was fine, just resting. Her sleep seemed a little more natural now, and Nancy decided it would probably be okay to step away for a few minutes.

She opened the door to Fenton’s room, and smiled. The lights were dimmed, but she could see Frank leaning forward against the bed, head resting on his forearms, obviously out cold. Fenton was sitting up slightly against his pillows and opened his eyes as he heard her footsteps. Nancy walked over to Fenton’s other side and leaned on the bed.

“How long?” She asked softly, not wanting to wake Frank. 

“Not very long,” Fenton replied, his voice a low rumble. “I’ve been drifting a little myself.”

“It’s about five in the morning. I think a little drifting is acceptable,” Nancy said. It seemed as if they’d been in the hospital forever, but they’d only come in that afternoon. “Hannah said they’d be back around eight.”

“Good. You two need some rest.” He ran his hand over his son’s hair, then looked up at her. “I understand I need to thank you for doing the first aid.”

“The boys were a little distracted,” she said, trying to make it light. She didn’t really want to remember that moment, the brief moment when she’d seen Frank torn between helping his father and catching the criminal. She didn’t want to remember her fear that Fenton was going to lose too much blood, or that the psycho would somehow get the better of both brothers, the small moment of panic when she realized she was alone with two injured people, and unarmed. She had never been so glad to see a police car in her career as a detective.

“At least it’s over,” Fenton told her. “After eighteen years, we finally have an answer, thanks to the three of you. But it was your insight, Nancy, that really helped crack it. Cecily would have been proud of you.”

Somehow, it meant something more, something different, when Fenton said it. Maybe because of how much professional respect Nancy had for him, but Nancy felt herself blush. “You called me by her name,” Nancy said softly.

“You’re very like her. I’m proud of you. This wouldn’t have ended well without the three of you.” 

He frowned for a moment, and Nancy wondered if he needed some more painkillers.

“You and Frank make a good team,” Fenton said. “I trust you can take care of my stubborn son?” He gave her a small smile.

“I love him,” she whispered. “I’ll do what I can.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Bulk of this chapter was written in 2010-2011.


	15. Chapter 15

It was strange walking into an empty house after the last week, Nancy thought. Hannah was spending the day at the hospital with the others. Hopefully, Helena would be released this afternoon, now that the ankle was the major issue. Fenton Hardy was going to need a couple more days to recuperate, although he was already getting restless. Her problem, however, was Frank Hardy. He needed to get some serious sleep – they had both caught some short naps yesterday, but it had been a long day. 

She had expected a fight. Nancy had seen him push himself past the normal limits enough times to know that he always had a hard time settling down afterwards. She supposed they should eat something, but the thought of food held no appeal. So instead she managed to get him up the stairs and into his room. 

“Stay with me for a moment?”

She leaned down to press her lips against his, just for a moment. “Of course.”

Nancy stretched out beside him, listening to his breathing change as he fell asleep. She told herself she was just going to stay until she was sure he wouldn’t wake up.

Half a minute later she was asleep.

_She’d been here before, had come to the state park for campouts when she was a Girl Scout, had picnicked with friends, had hiked the trail. But she had never been here on a case, until now.  
Fenton’s blood was warm and red, staining her hands as she put pressure on the wound in his shoulder. She knew her first aid, but she didn’t have much to work with, and she was afraid to take the pressure off long enough to get the first aid kit from the Mustang. Joe had called for help, and it was on the way. She looked over at the car where Helena was, looking eerily similar to another car accident scene. _

_This would be different, Nancy vowed. They knew who they were after, and they would catch him._

_Footsteps startled her, and Nancy turned her head to see her mother standing there. She didn’t look exactly like the few pictures Nancy remembered, or the photographs from the crime scene she had insisted on looking at. Instead, she looked like she might have looked today if she were still alive, with laughter lines around her eyes. She knelt beside Nancy and took Fenton’s hand._

_“Cecily,” he whispered, looking up at her. “I-“_

_“It’s all right now,” she said. “You found him, all of you.”_

_She rose and moved to the car, looking down at Helena. “Take care of them for me.”_

_Nancy wanted to run to her, to throw herself into her mother’s arms. But she couldn’t stop putting pressure on the wound._

_As if she knew it, Cecily rested her hand against Nancy’s cheek. “I love you.”_

_“I love you, too.”_

Nancy jerked awake, her mother’s voice ringing in her ears, trying to figure out where she was. It was better than the last dream, she supposed, but her subconscious clearly needed a break. It sent a little shiver down her back, because part of it had happened. Fenton had whispered her mother’s name, and at the time Nancy had assumed he was confusing Nancy for her mother in shock. But now she wondered…

She also wondered why she was in a not-familiar room.

The guest room, she realized after a moment, with Frank’s arm around her waist pulling her close.

She had only intended to lay down for a moment, to be sure he actually went to sleep. She’d intended to go sleep in her own bed, but clearly that had not happened. 

Lying here with him was a good feeling, and she had to resist the urge to relax back against him and close her eyes. Instead, she twisted slightly so she could see the clock. It was just past one, which meant they hadn’t been asleep that long. The dimness had her confused for a moment, until the sound of rain registered.

It was raining again. It had rained on them yesterday too, but now the sound was soothing, comforting. It made it seem as if they might be the only two people in the world, alone with just the sound of the rain. 

She rolled over and propped herself up on one arm, so she could actually see him instead of being pulled up against him. Nancy didn’t think she’d ever had the opportunity to really study him when he wasn’t looking back at her. Asleep, his face was relaxed, softer, despite the stubble darkening his cheeks. His face was too pale, she thought, too much missed sleep and stress lately. 

It was dangerously intimate, right up there with the time they’d been alone in her apartment. She told herself that she should get up and go to her own room, maybe try to catch some more sleep or a shower, but she wanted to stay right here, possibly forever. Her bladder was sending urgent signals, however, so she did her best to get off the bed without waking him up.

When she came back a few minutes, he was sitting up on the side of the bed.

“You look a lot better,” Nancy said. 

“I feel a lot better, although I liked it better when you were snuggling with me,” he said with a grin. 

She sat next to him, leaned into him, and laughed as he fell back, pulling her with him. 

“Everyone else is still at the hospital,” she said after a moment. 

“Are they?” His arm tightened around her, pulling her close for a kiss. 

When they broke apart, she took a deep breath. “Frank?”

He traced his finger along her cheek. “Yes?”

“What would you say if I told you I’ve changed my mind about not being ready?”

He looked at her, brown eyes locking on blue, barely daring to breathe. “I’d tell you I came prepared.”

She let him roll them over, until he was almost lying on top of her, his weight pressing her down. It felt wonderful. “So did I.” 

“Are you sure, Nancy?” His voice was low, as if he was afraid to break the spell they were under. 

“I’m sure,” she whispered, pulling him down for a kiss, and more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written in 2018


	16. Chapter 16

“It’s good to finally have everyone out of the hospital,” Laura Hardy said as she sat down next to Helena, who was sitting on one of the loungers with her ankle propped up. It was a nice summer evening, and they had decided to sit out on the deck after dinner.

“It’s good to be out of the hospital,” Helena agreed. Fenton Hardy had been released that morning, two days after Helena. “It’s good to be enjoying summer a little, finally.”

Laura glanced over where Fenton and Carson were talking together. Carson was still a little stilted around everyone, but it was good to see the two of them relaxed again with each other, instead of being on opposite sides. 

Frank, Nancy and Joe were sitting on the steps, talking about something. Nancy was sitting behind Frank, with her arms draped around his waist, her head resting one of his shoulders. It was even better to see the three of them relaxing. They had certainly earned it, especially Nancy. Laura was particularly glad to see her laughing again. It had been a difficult case for all of them, but she knew it had taken more out of Nancy than her sons. Nancy and Carson seemed to have smoothed over the roughness between them, which Laura was grateful for. That only left Carson and Helena, she thought. 

“Is there anything else good to report?” Laura looked at Helena with a smile.

“We haven’t really talked much about what happened,” Helena said after a long moment. She had woken up in the hospital two mornings ago to find Carson sitting anxiously by her bed. He’d had a look on his face that she couldn’t describe, and he had started apologizing. Helena had to admit that she had done some hard thinking about their whole situation, especially in light of how he had been acting for the last few days, but ultimately she had decided one thing. She loved Carson Drew and didn’t intend to give him up.

“He loves you very much,” Laura said.

“I know,” Helena sighed. “I felt like he was on the verge of asking me to marry him before all of this started,” she continued quietly, then shook her head. “Now, I just don’t know. I’m not in hurry, but I don’t want to see him decide that we’re not going to move forward at all.”

Laura nodded. She could definitely understand that. “Give him a little time.”

“A little time,” Helena agreed. 

\--- ---

Nancy met her father downstairs the next morning before anyone else was up. He had asked her to join him for breakfast this morning, just the two of them. They went to the local place they had gone to since she was just a little girl, where the French toast was incredible. Once their food had been delivered and the waitress had started checking on other tables, Carson looked Nancy in the eyes.

“Nancy, we need to talk.”

“You don’t need to apologize again,” she said softly. “It’s all right, Dad.”

They’d had a serious talk the night Helena had come home from the hospital, in which he had apologized for the cutting things he had said, especially his implications that she was giving more attention to Frank than she was to the case. Nancy had felt a little awkward, in light how much attention she had been paying to Frank earlier in the day, but she had accepted his apology. It had been a rough situation for all of them, but Carson most of all.

“It’s not about that,” he said, concentrating on his French toast for a moment like it was the most important thing in the world. Then he looked up at her. “I know we talked about it before, but I want you to know that I’m asking Helena to marry me. I want to know that you’re still okay with it.”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” She put down her fork. “Dad, I want you to be happy, and I think she’s a big part of that. Mom would have wanted you to be happy.”

“I think so, too.” Carson smiled suddenly. 

“I know so,” Nancy said, thinking about the last dream she’d had, the one where her mother had told Helena’s unconscious form to “take care of them”. 

When breakfast was finished and the bill was paid, they walked across the street to the cemetery – another one of the reasons they came to eat breakfast here. 

The cemetery was beautiful, especially in the morning. The groundsman took good care of the graves, and family plots were scattered throughout. Their family plot was easy enough to find, with a bench dedicated to Carson’s parents placed under an oak tree. Nancy knelt down, placing the bouquet of pink roses and carnations they had purchased in the holder. The dark gray stone was as it had been for her whole childhood, not as it had been in the weird dream, with the soft green grass around it. Nancy placed her hand on the stone for a minute, then rose. She felt like her father needed some time alone here.

“I’ll meet you back at the car,” she told him.

He was gone for some time, but when he met her at the car, she thought he looked like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written in 2018


	17. Chapter 17

“I’m leaving to go meet Bess,” Joe said, sticking his head into Frank’s room. “Are you about ready?”

“You have the directions to the restaurant?” Frank asked. 

“Yes. And Bess knows the place. I’ll see you there.”

The trip was almost over, Frank thought. It had been an interesting one, and one that had pushed all of them to their limits. Of course, some very good things had come out of it – they’d solved an eighteen year old unsolved mystery, he and Nancy had admitted they loved each other, and they had enjoyed a very memorable rainy afternoon. He hated the thought of leaving her, but it couldn’t be avoided. Class would be starting again soon, and they both had degrees to finish.

Downstairs, he found Nancy waiting for him. Her hair was down, and she wore a dark blue and white sundress with thin straps and a skirt that fluttered around her knees. 

“You look nice,” she said, taking in the black polo shirt and jeans he wore.

“So do you,” he said.

“Let’s get going,” Nancy said as she picked up her purse. 

It was nice to have a little space alone, even if it was only the car ride downtown. “So where are we going?”

“There’s a Chinese place Dad likes by the courthouse,” Nancy told him. “Usually he waits out juries there. It’s really good.”

He studied her for a moment. Frank knew this mood, knew that she had some kind of secret. “What’s going on?”

She looked at him and smiled. “I’m pretty sure Dad is going to pop the question,” Nancy replied. “It’s about time.”

\--- --- --- 

Nancy enjoyed the meal, as she always did. She thought the table was probably groaning from the amount of food for the nine of them, and it was good to have everyone enjoying themselves. Even Joe seemed to be filling up, in between flirting madly with Bess, although Nancy got the impression that Bess was going to be demanding details at their next lunch from the look she gave her. Joe had given her a hard look as well, and Nancy had braced herself for him to get a little teasing in. So far, however, he was on his best behavior.

Was the change in the relationship between her and Frank that obvious, Nancy wondered. She hoped not, at least to their parents.

She wasn’t going to worry about it tonight. Instead, she had resolved to just enjoy the evening – especially since the Hardys were leaving tomorrow. That, and she was waiting to see what her father had in mind. Her question was answered at the end of dinner when they brought out the restaurant’s signature dessert – oversized fortune cookies and bowls of ice cream.

Helena eyed the fortune cookie – she actually wasn’t a huge fan of them. That, and she was pleasantly stuffed with cashew chicken and fried rice, happy to hear Carson’s laugh ring out now and then. 

She cracked open the fortune cookie, expecting to find a slip of paper with a fortune they might laugh about later when it was just the two of them together – “in bed,” she thought, thinking of how they used to add those words on to every fortune.

Instead, what had been inside the cookie sparkled on her plate. Helena drew in a deep breath, and picked up the ring. It was a diamond solitaire set in platinum – simple, classic, elegant. It was exactly the sort of ring she might have picked out for herself.

She turned to Carson, but words failed her.

He took her hand between both of his. “Will you marry me?”

“Yes. Oh yes!” She said as he took the ring and slid it on her finger. The rest of the table burst into applause as he leaned in to kiss her. 

Nancy reached for Frank’s hand under the table, squeezing it as she cheered. This had been worth waiting for.

All of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written in 2018 for WIP Big Bang.


	18. Epilogue

Frank hated packing, especially when it meant leaving Nancy. They had been able to have some fun without the mystery hanging over them, but there was only so much time they could steal. It was almost time for both of them to head back to college. They had some good memories to take back with them, and incentive 

He looked up at the soft knock on the door. Opening it, he found Nancy standing there. “Can I come in?”

He grinned. “Of course.”

It looked like there were some more memories to be made.

She locked the door behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written in 2018 for WIP Big Bang.


End file.
